


400CQ, Part 1: Shadows of the Badlands

by miraimisu



Series: The 400 Coin Quest [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Action/Adventure, Ambush, Assassination, Beginning of the Slowburn, Bickering, Bodycount: too many to count + a gruesome one, Character Death, Enemies to Allies to Rivals to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Gladion Leaves His Hometown and Things Happen - the Fic Begins, Graphic Violence, Moon The Chaotic Assassin ™, Pirate Trouble Shenanigans, Pirates, The 'Pokémon as part of folklore' part BEGINS, Thieving, Ugly Blankets, Very Brief Insinuation of Prostitution (or what could be interpreted as such), slowburn, violence (not graphic)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-01-25 02:10:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 104,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21348535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraimisu/pseuds/miraimisu
Summary: Meet Gladion, a man trapped in his hometown, seeking to bring back a family he has lost and forgotten about.Meet Moon, an assassin aiming for the highest apple in the tree, hellbent in making money to make her secret desires come true.Meet Hau, a man without a memory, longing to get back all that he thinks he once lost.What would happen if fate brought them together? Absolute chaos, that's what.[PLAYLIST]
Relationships: future Gladio | Gladion/Moon
Series: The 400 Coin Quest [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539001
Comments: 106
Kudos: 35





	1. Ludwig Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion leaves his hometown, his foster father and his old, quiet life behind to begin a new chapter of his life.

If there is one thing Gladion is good at, it's sneaking around and not being noticed by unwarranted enemies. He's lived his whole life hiding from any offenses and leading a modest life in the small countryside of Ludwig Town, where everything is soil, golden wheat and modest merchants ambling about.

But sometimes, his patience is worn thin and not everything is merchants and wheat, but criminals and people clad in costumes that look stolen from a sunken pirate ship.

Two bodies collapse on the ground simultaneously as Gladion cleans the blade of his silver sword with the hem of his dark shirt, the metal catching the dim sunlight of the sinking sun. "I told you I didn't want to hurt you, but I _really _don't enjoy being chased around for a pair of pennies, _especially _when our town is this poor. Have some decency and stop harassing me."

The two bandits scramble away from the man, panic dripping from the way they tremble and look up at him with wide, round eyes. The two look fairly similar, wearing red and black and orange and a very suspicious cloth over their mouths, which muffles their words as they try to fight him verbally.

"Dude, who the hell are you? We just wanted to talk! I already got my own self-esteem issues, man! No need to try and beat us to a pulp, it was so unnecessary!"

"Right, and that's why I assume you have been chasing kids in this town for their bread money just to _talk_, am I right?" Sword sheathed, he puts his hands on his hips. "Also, nice of you to admit that you _did _get beaten. But I couldn't care less about what you wanted to do."

Gladion had been running from these two guys for around half an hour before he had gotten tired and handled things in his own way. Aggressivity is not in his DNA, nor is being so confrontational, but he really is pissed at these people. He's seen them around town harassing little kids for their pocket money and, in his passiveness, Gladion had refused to do anything, no matter how guilty he felt after the fact.

But they had poked him in the wrong places when they threatened _him _for money. If anything, they should have been glad he chose to run away instead of taking out his sword. Daggers and swords don't mix well, if their wounds and precisely cut bruises are any proof of that.

They had proven themselves to be pretty clumsy. Useless criminals without jobs wanting some money. What a waste of space.

In due time, the criminals pick themselves up and stand on their feet. Gladion's hand is slanted on the handle of his trusty sword – _Silvally_, he had named it – in a silent warning, green eyes darkening in a threat. The bandits don't look like they're about to ask for his money again, though.

"Dude, you definitely got the guts," says one of them, moving their hands around as they speak in a manner Gladion can only classify as obnoxious. Walking migraines is what they are. "You could join us. Y'know, get on boats and pillage some losers. We go on sick adventures all over the Kandrus Dominion and beyond. Our boss is a really rich guy!"

The other elbows him gently. "_Dude_, you're forgetting' about paydays."

"_Dude_, we barely get paid."

"You're right, dude, you're so right."

Their misconception that wealth equals power really amuses him. Judging by the disarrayed state of their clothes and how their daggers are rusty at the edges, Gladion can confidently say that they don't look rich or _powerful_. They look like grunts taken out from some history book, those with mossy edges and dusty pages.

"I don't really care about how much you make out of other people's misery, or how nice and rich your boss is. I'm going on a big journey tomorrow and I need my coins." They hadn't asked for his life story but Gladion hopes they will understand that he really can't be bothered today. "I was in a good mood until you two came by. You could have spared yourself the battle and left me alone."

A trembling whimper comes from one of them. "Can someone like you even be in a good mood? What's a good mood for _you_?"

"Clearly the opposite of what I'm feeling right now, so scram already or I'll chop you into tiny bite pieces." Hand curled around the leather handle of his sword, he takes out the blade just a little. "We can spar if you want. I'll count down to ten."

The bandits take a step back, hands shaking with eyes wide as saucers. "Dude, what's wrong with you? Threatening people like us, belonging to the fearsome company of the Bla–"

"_One_, two…"

When they realize Gladion is being serious, they make the smart decision of running for their lives and leaving him in peace, which prompts him to keep his sword in and sigh, rolling his shoulders until a small crack rings through the soreness. It has been a long day, running errands all over the town to grab some extra coins and have his gear in check. He deserves some rest, to sleep the jitters and excitement for tomorrow off.

He realizes that he's pretty close to his house and parts in that direction, stretching his arms and letting his legs loosen up after the long chase.

Ludwig Town is fairly small in comparison to other towns – or, at least, the many maps he's read say that, because he's never been out of his small town ever since he was a kid. It's all houses, farms, windmills and a lake to the right. Everything is close together and the people are amicable. It's just right for his needs.

He's always lived here for as long as he can remember, yet he knows he used to have a family. He lives with his godfather – a term merely in use to assign him a name, as he's more of a foster father – a scientist from a faraway city that had run away at the wake of war, but he used to have a mother and a sister, that much he knows.

He isn't sure where they could be, but as the years had gone by, he had begun to find Ludwig Town small and too familiar. The lack of a real family had fed his previously mild nostalgia until it became real longing to search for them, if they're alive.

Someone has to know something.

Nobody in this town knows anything, but _someone _for sure must know where they are.

Gladion enters his home.

"Good evening."

Nobody answers, but he doesn't mind. He's grown up with his godfather, but the latter is rarely in the house himself. He's usually busy looking after his clients in homes as a doctor or working with pharmacies for a penny. This evening is no exception.

The house is quaint, small and packed with everything he needs; a small sofa, a bookcase, potted plants everywhere he can see and a little kitchenette. His room is to the right and his godfather's is to the left, a bathroom at the end of the hallway. The chimney is on, indicating the house had had company before.

Gladion walks to a narrow coffee table between bookshelves, where not only a potted plant stands, but also a small medallion with green, black and golden colors on the edges. He's not sure what it's meant to signify, but his godfather had found it in his old clothes one day and told him to keep it.

It's a very odd piece of jewelry. It has a golden chain attached to it, so shiny it must be worth several bags of coins, but he's always refused to let go of it. It has a little hole on the right side where a wire or maybe a little key could fit, but nothing he's tried ever opens it.

Under the medallion is a small painting he would be taking to his adventure. The image is washed with blurs and splashes of water, very likely caused by time and aging. The faces of the two women by his side are blurred and unrecognizable, along with their clothes and their hands.

Gladion's face is barely recognizable. The only thing that lets him know it's him in the small painting is the trademark spring of his uneven fringe, which he keeps around to this day.

The tall woman's hair is long and possibly blonde, and the little girl by his and her side has also long hair and flowers on her head. The image radiates a certain raw energy he can't quite explain.

The door clicks open as his godfather makes his way in, throwing shadows over the entire home. "Ah, Gladion. I am glad to see you made it here safe and sound. I heard from Miss Delabrié that you were cornered by some criminals earlier."

Gladion turns around. Faba, his godfather, still wears the same green and white lab coat from work, with a green turtleneck under it. He knows the clothes are very expensive, so much so he doesn't look like a Ludwig citizen. The round glasses sit on his nose without a speck of dust to cloud them.

The other nods curtly. "I took care of them already. They have been causing a lot of trouble lately."

Faba looks at him in earnest curiosity, head tilted slightly. Despite his known position as a man of science and utmost precision, he's mostly clueless about Gladion's dedication to his sword mastery. "I assume you did not get hurt in that endeavor, did you?"

"I'm the best swordsman in this village. Of course I didn't." He's evidently confident in his abilities, and Faba is just as pleased by this claim. His nod radiates satisfaction and posedness, very much to be expected from a man just as proud of his own abilities. "I didn't want them to take my coins. Tomorrow is the big day, after all."

A pause ensues after this claim, which Gladion had actually anticipated. Faba has always been outspokenly against his goals. He considers his ambitions to be ridiculous to the point of obsession. He's never understood Gladion's need for closure on his past, nor the fact that he's throwing away a life of stability to mend something that is in the past.

Admittedly, Gladion himself is aware that this is nothing like him. He's more used to standing back and letting things fix themselves, as impatient as he might be when it comes to other aspects of his life. He really doesn't feel safe, throwing himself to the world like he's about to be born again.

But maybe that's what this is all about. About being born again.

He knows he needs this as much as he needs to breathe, even if Faba does not understand this. At least he's not trying to talk him out of the decision, if this silence proves such fact.

"So you still want to leave, I see," he calmly states, walking to the kitchen. Gladion only realizes Faba had gone grocery shopping when he hears the rustling of fabrics and food meet the table. "You are adamant about this issue to a fault."

Gladion's fingers curl around the medallion, holding the picture with his other. He tucks the piece of jewelry into the pocket of his pants. "If you really consider my goal to be just a fixation, you haven't been listening to me enough."

The exasperated sigh that Faba lets out ticks him off the wrong way. Faba is, essentially, the epitome of heartlessness. There's barely space for emotion in that rock-solid heart of his, hardened by science and undoubtedly the wastes of war, but it always bothers Gladion how he actively refuses to understand his motives.

No wonder everyone calls Gladion a jerk. He hasn't had the best role model and it's alarming enough for Gladion to notice Faba _is _the problem.

"Trust me, I have been listening for long enough to know you are just a brat wanting to become some sort of hero, or whatever you kids want these days." Such a downplay of his aspirations makes Gladion square his jaw. "You could simply stay here. I already told you I could give you a job as a doctor. That alone is more promising than whatever heroic stunts you will pull off anywhere you go."

Gladion's hand shakes in anger. Faba always finds a way to anger him past his limits, and his shaking hand is a very early symptom of such fury. "I don't want to become a doctor. Me knowing how to patch up a cut or two does not qualify me for that job."

"It's not like the people here need more than that. You could make a man out of yourself and make a living– but you prefer to go on some silly adventures." Faba's words ring clearly through the rustle of groceries being placed on cabinets. "You know it's dangerous. I thought you were smarter than this."

The blond's eyes narrow in suspicion, glaring pointedly at his godfather. "Why do I get the feeling you really aren't worried about my safety?"

"You said it yourself. You are the best swordsman in this town. I have been in wars, Gladion. I know what you are capable of, I have been telling you since I picked you up from that broken bridge and you fought me off with a stick." The man crosses his arms at the memory. "You have always been one handful of a rascal."

If that comment is supposed to be offensive, Gladion does not know. In his memory, his upbringing had always been Faba educating him into a well-behaved man, studious, guarded and very much raised to become a businessman. However, his preference for the sword had come as an impulse from the many bandits that ransacked Ludwig Town and his need to fend them off somehow.

Gladion hates feeling useless; so, one day he picked up an unrefined piece of metal and told one of the blacksmiths from town to teach him the basics. From then on, he hunted and learned with his sword in hand. His technique isn't very artistic or refined, but it has tweaks and twirls that make it unique and deadly effective.

He still prefers strategy over his sword, however, knowing that he should save death and attacks as a last resort. He's patient on the battlefield but very impulsive to get what he wants.

And Faba thinks this voyage will be nothing but a consequence of his impulses. "I'm leaving tomorrow whether you want it or not. And when I'm back, I will have so many coins and wealth you won't even recognize me– and more importantly, I will have a family right by my side."

"Knowing you, it will take very little for you to get tired of other people's habits and the hardships of the world. I give you 2 days before you are back with your tail behind your legs, Gladion." Faba is facing him now, body turned in his direction. He stands in the kitchen but his voice echoes and feels as if he's right before Gladion. "Are you aware that this world is not made of roses? That there will be people who might kill you for just a penny?"

"When has that not applied to Ludwig Town?"

"Ludwig Town is very different from the rest of the world. Everyone here is very friendly and most are too scared of each other to fight for dominance. A truly wise but cowardly behavior, if you ask me." Nobody had asked, but he continues anyway. "The world is dangerous. And you know how irascible you are with other people."

Recurring to shaming Gladion for his lack of social abilities is something Faba has always recurred to when it comes to talking him down from any idea he has. It's something that can't be countered that easily because, for the most part, Faba is right when he assumes Gladion will find many difficulties when it comes to adapting to the world outside the little bubble of Ludwig Town.

But this is a very different scenario.

"I have Silvally to protect me if I'm in danger. And as you have told me _too many times _already, I have to make a man of myself. And I'm going to look for my family, no matter what it takes." Because he's _not _his family, but saying that would be unnecessarily cruel. "I don't care what you think."

Faba gives him a silent, long stare. "No matter what?" He recites his phrasing with a layer of mockery Gladion does not appreciate, but he nods regardless. "What if they are dead?"

If he had not thought about the possibility, Gladion would not have been able to stomach it. But he's aware that if he's away from them, either they are dead or _he _should be dead, because it's not natural that he's been separated from his family like this. Ludwig Town is full of families– some dysfunctional (like his own) and others that look happy, and _all _of them are together.

All he wants is to meet his own family. All he wants is to see the world. All he wants is to be born again.

"If they _are _dead, I will at least get closure on what happened. I deserve to know what happened. I deserve to know my family, if they are alive." His hands ball into fists, the picture becoming wrinkly in the process. "And whatever I do to achieve that goal is none of your business."

Animosity in his voice, fierce words that betray anger and so much more that Faba would not understand. There is so much more to what he's saying, a lot of sleepless nights spent thinking of this, frustration and very mild fear for the unknown, bottled up feelings that Faba would undoubtedly use against him if he dared speak out loud.

So, he stays quiet. He watches Faba digest his words with uncanny patience. The doctor nods and pushes his glasses further up his nose. At this point, if Gladion does not throw himself to the void and avoid Faba's jabs, he will not get anywhere and his turmoil will continue stirring until it consumes him.

And he's really fond of his own personality. He doesn't want to become the stone-faced heartless scientist that Faba wants to make of him. He's already partially succeeded in the way he raised him– and it doesn't need to go any further than emotional constipation and lonely days.

Faba hums and turns to the cabinets again. "Three days. That is all I give you before you come back asking me to give you a bed to sleep on."

The other is torn between continuing the conversation or just pushing it aside, his hands clenching even more before he lets them hang loose and he takes in a deep breath. Trying to dialogue with Faba has always proven itself to be useless, so he finds no use in doing it again now.

Instead, Gladion looks up at the bookshelf before him. There is a myriad of books of many colors and ages, small glasses full of leaves, pencils, and flowers dotting the free space. Most of these books cover pharmacy and others touch on subjects like maths, literature, and medicine in general. The majority of what he knows nowadays comes from those thick volumes.

"You know," hand in the air, Gladion reaches up to take a rolled map from the top of the shelf. Dust comes out in puffs. Faba clears his throat, "you should at least read a little about wherever you are headed to. Do you even know what your first stop will be?"

Gladion nods as he unrolls the small map, coffee colors coming to life in the old papyrus. "Gemstone Village."

"Of course." Faba clicks his tongue.

Gemstone Village is one of the biggest places in the Kandrus Dominion. In the vicinity of the Everspring Woods, it's just as verdant and lush as the forest next to it suggests, full of markets, greenery and meadows. Plenty of festivals are held there, so people are allegedly very generous when offering a place to stay to hermits and tourists. He's heard only wonders about the foods and homes in that village.

His first stop should be a peaceful backwater where he could prepare himself for the events to come. Gemstone Village is the best option by far.

"I heard there are lots of merchants there. I will need new clothes and some fixes on Silvally before I go any further."

"I assume our friendly neighbors also forgot to mention how ridiculously _expensive _everything is in that village." The disdain in his voice is so clear it's sparking irritation in him again. "Also, your insistence to call your weapon with a name is utterly ridiculous."

Choosing to ignore that last comment, Gladion nods. "Yeah. I at least heard everything is of great quality, so it's safe to assume the investment will be worthwhile. I wouldn't want to spend my coins on a scam."

"You are utterly impossible." Faba shakes his head. "I told you so many times to come with me to the market to watch me haggle with those moots from the local market and you never listened to me. You better not get conned."

"I already know about the art of bargains myself." Gladion carefully bends the map in two, then again. "Last time I went with you, you made a fool out of yourself and got taken out of the building."

Faba grows stiff at this and grimaces in distaste at the memory, one Gladion is unabashedly fond of because of how ridiculous Faba had been that day. "They had no right to talk to a man like me that way! I'm a professional in that field!"

"Well, bargaining is clearly _not _your forte, that's for sure."

The deadpan mockery brings Faba to hiss as Gladion calmly retreats and takes to the hallway, vaguely hearing Faba say something among the lines of "You rebellious child!"

Gladion stops walking to look at Faba one last time. The man's frame is wrapped in sunset and rays of light, yet his expression looks so utterly choleric and mean not even the heavenly day outside can paint a kind portrait of him. "I will be packing my stuff in my bedroom. Unless the house catches on fire, don't interrupt me."

But, being frank to himself, maybe not even the house catching on fire would interrupt him, for he would very likely fall asleep the moment he gets in his room. It's been a moderately hard day and it's a tidbit too hot for his liking,

He really can't wait for tomorrow.

So, as he gets in his room and expectedly collapses on his bed, he takes a minute to commit the features of his room to memory: the dark corners in the ceiling, rotting with humidity. The cold air from the polished wood on the room's walls. The now empty bookshelves, previously half full with tomes on blacksmith matters and history. The empty desk, facing the sunset as it streams on his face, pressed on the plush lavender pillow under his head.

His brain memorizes the smell and the feeling of comfort, for it would be a long time until he'd get to enjoy these luxuries again. Gladion falls asleep five minutes later.

* * *

Sunrise rolls in sooner than expected, dyeing the sky in colors of red, gold and white. It's an oddly warm dawn for the hour at which he's awake, but he chalks the residual heat up to his own nervousness and very palpable excitement.

"Are you sure you have everything in your bag?"

"Yeah."

"Even your spare razor blade?"

"Mhm."

Faba and Gladion walk up to the plaza of the town, which is ghostly empty this early. There are several carriages full of merchants that for sure wouldn't mind dropping Gladion in Gemstone Village with their own things to sell.

"I also dropped some painkillers in your bag," Faba admits, only looking forward as the other looks at him in subtle askance. "Just in case you get a cold or something."

The concern is very faint, but Gladion notices it all the same and nods in gratitude for the gesture. He doubts it will be of any use– after all, he knows how to look after himself very well. He'd be dead before getting caught in a silly illness because he was too careless.

But the painkillers could have many other uses, so he doesn't reply to Faba's last comment.

They approach a certain wagon that has a friendly-looking man by it. He's loading baskets full of fruits and pumpkins – the latter being a very high-quality item from this town in particular – when he sees Gladion and Faba approaching.

"Good morning! I sure don't think you two are mates o' mine, are ya'?" As he caresses his very well-trimmed beard, he points at Faba's spotless lab coat. "Those clothes of yours are too fancy to be a worker."

Any sane person would have been either mildly offended in misinterpretation or just unfazed by that comment, but of course, Faba had to grin and touch his chin in pleasure, finding great satisfaction in having his uniform be regarded as fancy. "My, what a gentleman we have here."

Gladion grimaces at the mighty response, but the man before them blinks and then grins, albeit a bit too quickly to not be smiling out of confusion. "Ah, well, my kind has to be friendly and all that to be successful!" Then, his eyes land on Gladion, who is blinking at him blankly. "And I assume your son must want something from me, with that backpack he's got on him. That sure looks heavy."

The blond nods curtly and offers him his hand in a way only Faba would have taught him. The latter, in fact, cackles to himself as the merchant hesitantly shakes Gladion's hand. The pleasure he seems to find in being seen young enough to be his father is abysmal. "You surely know your place, friendly merchant." His eyes land on the slightly smaller, younger man by his side. "Unlike some people I know."

Gladion's eyebrows pinch at the very uncalled for segment, but ignores it in favor of leaving as quickly as possible. "My name is Gladion. I would like to reach Gemstone Village as soon as possible, and I was… wondering if I could make use of your wagon to get there."

As unused as he is to asking for help, he stumbles a bit when speaking and asking for help, but the merchant makes nothing of it and nods heartily.

"I got lots of space to spare, so please make yourself at home!" Gladion nods and lets out a relieved breath, walking to place his bag somewhere between the boxes. "We should get there by today's late afternoon. Gotta be careful and a bit slow on our way there."

"That's fine," he says. Faba watches him move some things around and the scientist squares his shoulders, still not quite comfortable with the thought of him leaving so hurriedly.

"I still do not understand why you cannot simply _walk _there. This kind sir should not be bothering himself with your needs, let alone now when he needs to load his own goods into his wagon."

As further proof of his excitement to run away from Faba, Gladion very hastily throws _himself _into the wagon and scoots inside, watching Faba from the inside with a frown at his continuous intent to make his life consistently harder. Clearly, if he's asking something as inane as this, it's because he hasn't even listened to him list his plans over and over.

Thankfully, the merchant notices the tension in the air – and very tactfully ignores it – and walks up to Faba. "Your son is very clever, my friend. There are a bunch of pirates going around Everspring Forest. It'd be unsafe to go on foot."

"I will have you know, _friend_, that this man right here is a very skillful swordsman. He could take out a whole army of pirates on his own and more." Gladion pretends that praise does not inflate his ego and crosses his arms. "He is being lazy. And too troublesome."

Just as the praise comes it _goes _and Gladion should be used to Faba baiting him like this, to him tricking him into a false stance of confidence to then just let him down like a house of cards. But this is not the time for him to reflect on his godfather's intricate methodologies of manipulation.

The merchant lays his hand on Faba's shoulder reassuringly. Gladion can almost hear the flinch from his godfather in the way he tenses. "Don't worry, pal, he'll be safe with me. He won't even notice the time passing."

"Please, merchant friend of mine, remove your hand from my clean robes this instant."

Very innocently ignoring Faba's request, he just pats the tense shoulder of the scientist, garnering even more irritation from him. "You're too tense! When I come back, I'll treat you to some beer!"

The dim sunlight throws shadows in every wrinkle present in Faba's frown, who is retreating with a snarl worthy of a tiger's growl. "I would rather not."

"Whatever you want, pal." The man turns from Faba to look at his passenger, who has made himself comfortable in the wagon and is concealed by the orange shade of the wagon's bonnet. He's oddly quiet to the merchant, but he doesn't know Gladion hadn't planned on further words, thus asks the following. "Not gonna say goodbye to your dad, kid?"

"He's not my father. He's my _god_father, if you will." Faba nods in agreement wordlessly. "And I have nothing else to say. All that had to be said has been said."

In the silence and light romanticism of dawn, it would be usual to think that this is supposed to be a meaningful scene of unsaid, unspoken feelings and goodbyes between family members, as if there was something else beyond the surface when, really, Gladion has nothing to tell Faba that he hasn't already. Faba has shown his disapproval a thousand times and Gladion has tried to counter such posture at least nine thousand ninety-nine times.

There will always be one more complaint in that doctor's eyes that Gladion will never escape from. As if he's disappointing him. But there has never been more to Faba– it's always disappointment or pleasure, nothing else.

Duality is not fun when it's this stale and lifeless. He's got nothing else to say that he hasn't already, because there's no way to get around that guy. And seeing how Faba has said nothing opposing his point, he's inclined to think Faba has nothing to say either.

"Very well, then! Let's get going. The sooner we leave, the better!" In spite of the merchant leaving Faba's side after a curt goodbye, the latter remains rooted in his place. His eyes are questioning, as if giving Gladion another opportunity to stay by his side and grow to be what is, in his opinion, the best man imaginable.

But Gladion's mind is set. His eyes are in a much more faraway horizon what wherever Faba's greedy hands could reach.

He no longer looks at Faba and instead directs his eyes to the sunrise peeking from the hills in the distance. A whip and an order later, the wheels move forward, rattling as they bump with the pebbles on the dusty, sandy path out of Ludwig Village.

With the hills so big and the sun so small, it looks like a very big world.

And Gladion can't wait to find his family. And he can't wait to see all of this world, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Faba: *breathes*  
all of us collectively + Gladion: we're done with you. pack your things and leave everyone and everything.
> 
> SO WELCOME TO THIS TRIP THAT'S GONNA BE the Passion Fanfic that I've been working on for the past 4 months. So yeah. I love this fic more than anything I've ever written and I'm so excited I might break the laptop with excitement AH, so any support is appreciated bc I'm nervous as fuck even though I'm SO PUMPED UP FOLKS (alsoI hope you're all aware that I adore Gladion with my whole being and I will go into more depth about this in the next chapter BC THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET ROWDY)
> 
> Get ready for the slowest burn of your entire life, my loves, for you will hate me forever after this one hahahaha ha
> 
> where are Moon and Hau, you wonder. who's to know, I say. 
> 
> /dances away aggressively, see you in TWO DAYS FOLKS LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD HECK YEAH


	2. The Woman With The Knives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion's carriage is ambushed by someone that might or might not want to stab his guts out.
> 
> Confoundingly, he is later helped out by someone that might or might not want to stab his guts out, too.

The road to Gemstone Village is barely a road in itself, or at least the state of such structure does not live up to its name. It's basically a dry, yellowish desert full of rocks and little trees, the lush greenery of the Everspring Woods in the distance. The air is terribly dry and the temperature is lukewarm on his skin, yet the sparse lights that reach his arms dig under his pale skin like needles, all covered by the low hum of the goods rattling in the wagon around Gladion's slouched figure.

It has been several hours since they left Ludwig Town and the trip has been pleasant so far, if such a long ride could be any better. The merchant driving it often fills in the space with small talk about the weather and tales about the many places he's visited. Words of adventures and troubles at the sea lull Gladion into fearing that maybe, he will run into such trouble too.

The wagon is now perched under the shade of a tree with some leaves. The place itself is almost a mirage, some grass dotting the edges of the lot with a few trees sprouting from the dirty sand. The shade of the tree is enough for Gladion to want to fall asleep again, but before he can as much as doze off again, the merchant is coming back.

The heavy shift in the wagon prompts the traveler to blink awake in a sort of daze. "I'm back! The food was delicious, you should have come with me! You totally look like you could use some meat on your muscles."

Gladion has been called all sorts of mean nicknames in his childhood for his fair constitution: from _pale bone Gladion _to _edgy skeleton_, but he's always had a sharp tongue to counter those stupid instances. However, the blond knows better than to fight the goodwill of this kind merchant, so he stays quiet and hums.

The merchant seems to have gotten used to his lack of words and he's taken up the role of filling in the silence just fine, much to Gladion's delight. "I heard some nasty buccaneers are drivin' around these parts. We gotta watch out for those."

The warning prompts his shoulders to square and tense, notion dawning on him slowly as he scrambles to his knees. The wagon has a few holes poked into its bonnet, through which Gladion peers with narrowed eyes. The road is empty other than a few more wagons driving in the same direction, crisp orange winds full of dust pushing through the dry landscape.

There seems to be nothing out of place. Silence and the words of that man fill the space. "I'm sure everything will be okay," reassures Gladion, more to himself than to the man because he truly doesn't want anything to go awry before he's even began his adventure. "The roads look very peaceful today."

"Mhm. There's barely any traffic this season, folks are a bit scared of the sunshine." The blond takes his spot back between the boxes of vegetables and sighs, pushing his back against the fabric of the bonnet. "I hope you ain't too hot in there, boy. At least we're getting close to the woods, so we should get to Gemstone Village in the next hour or so. Ya' can nap for a little if you want."

As tempting as the offer is, Gladion can't will himself to sleep. Something is pushing through his veins that prevents any sort of rest from happening. Be it the sunlight or the rush of the wooden wheels against the hard earth, his heart is drumming and he can't muster the will to nap anymore. His body is twice the alert his heart should be. He's tenser than he should be.

No answer comes from him and the merchant must have deemed the conversation to be over, or maybe he thinks Gladion has fallen asleep– but nothing is said for a pair of minutes where all he hears is birds, wheels, and then, a gasp.

"What in the living _hell _is that!?"

The alerted tone in his voice prompts Gladion to quickly get on his knees and peer over his shoulder. A big cloud of sand is approaching them along with several dots coupled with noises and _screams_, the unforgiving noise of carts driving in their direction and voices yelling, all of it muffled by the wind and by Gladion's thumping heart, blood being pushed into his ears as his left hand shakes in a very telling manner.

The cart is getting closer, and closer, and people are coming into view. "You need to steer away from them! They are coming for us!"

The merchant can barely muster an answer and Gladion soon discovers that this group of _they _is actually a _she_, crouched on the single cart she's driving before the blurry figure is leaping from her own cart and suddenly slamming into _their _cart, all in a flash where Gladion is pushed back into the shade of the bonnet.

A noise of pain. A body being thrown away from the wagon. His eyes peering open to see a woman with a smile that screams _sunshine _and happiness but she's holding a pair of daggers too sharp to promise hugs and kisses.

"Good morning, kind sir! I'm gonna borrow your nice wagon for a while if you don't mind!" The blond is unable to speak, and judging by how she closes her eyes and keeps on smiling like a teacup full of energy, she doesn't mind his silence. "Well, it's not like you got many options either, unless you wanna jump off like that guy just did! Better sit tight, sir!"

And the woman sits where the merchant used to be, but unlike that man who is alarmingly _nowhere to be found_, she's got the handle of a dagger in her mouth and another precariously over the wooden tongue of the wagon that pushes the horses, crouched in a very unkempt manner.

Only when she lets out a sigh, like a _whew_, he can push words past his mouth and verbalize the utter confusion and shock he's feeling, all translating into very well placed anger. "Who in the world are you!? Where– where did the man driving this wagon go? _What did you do_?"

"Eh? I needed the cart, I'm not looking for trouble! I'd offer you my pinky but you don't seem to be the 'pinky promise' kind of guy, right?" She keeps on smiling as she speaks, turned in his direction, completely unfazed by the menacing glare in his eyes. "You should be grateful I'm here, sir, there are pirates looking for money making the rounds around here!"

In the messy heap of glares and shaky hands he's become, Gladion takes a minute to collect his own thoughts and look at this person. Short black hair, a bit unkempt at the sides. Fair skin with some splotches of dirt on the elbows and hands, then old clothes of greens and beiges and shoes so old they barely classify as shoes anymore. The daggers in her hands are clearly the most important piece on her right now, shining vibrantly to the light.

"Who– Who even are you!?" He's aware that his voice is too wobbly and that he had promised himself to remain collected through any troubles life might put him through, but this is already too much. He no longer knows if his words are so thick because he's afraid or because he's just pissed.

Voices ring to his right and to his left as he peers out of the bonnet. The few carts that had been previously traveling by his side seem to be going through the same sort of commotion he himself is witnessing, leaving him to wonder if this woman could belong to those fearsome pirates the merchant had talked about just _minutes _ago.

The girl, who is still smiling and single-handedly driving the erratic horses before them, extends a hand to him. "The name's Moon! Do you have a name too?"

"It's–" Gladion sighs and rejects her hand, shadows clouding between his eyebrows as he frowns in frustration. "It's Gladion. That's my name."

If Moon has any opinions about this, she doesn't quite say. She simply nods and continues looking over the scene with keen attention, then seems to give up and sweeps her legs under her body to swing them over the ledge of the wagon. "Okay, Gladion, do me a favor and hold my daggers for a second."

She doesn't really give him much more of a chance and plops her two daggers on his lap, surprisingly able to not hurt him with the sharp edges of the weapons. The horses seem to have barely noticed the change of driver and are still charging ahead with unchanged speed. The scene still has Gladion greatly confused. "What are you doing here?"

Her eyes widen. Only now does he realize they are black, pretty much like her hair. "Oh, right! I was just going around Everspring Woods when I heard some pirates were coming to Gemstone Village, all rowdy and noisy and _gross_, so I took some dudes with me and… well, here we are!" Moon absent-mindedly gestures around her, still not looking at him. "They should be taking care of the rest of the carts and stuff. They told me they could do _that _much."

There are _so _many things in her words to register that are just wrong on so many levels, so weird and untidy, much like a toddler's bedroom or a house after a hurricane. Maybe it's in the way she talks as if raiding carts is a habit of hers or how she can't stop smiling that she's got a very raw energy he immediately can't stand.

"Pirates, going in Gemstone Village's direction?" She nods, eyes drifting around. "You could have just told the guards in Gemstone Village about it! Why the hell did you think taking people's stuff and doing it _yourself _was a good idea?"

Moon cranes her head to look at him. Her eyes are disturbingly big, almost like those of a doll or a ghost, taking in his body, his face, his posture. They twinkle with too much emotion to be just a doll, though. And her smile is waking too much wonder and irritation in him to be a mirage. "Let's say I have… issues with authority. Besides, why wouldn't I get my hands dirty if I can? This is heaps of fun!"

"This is _not _fun! What– how can you think _this _is enjoyable?" Is this woman _insane_? Is it that his lack of experience makes him too prone to surprises or is he just being sane and reasonably confused by all of it?

Moon shrugs, but such nonchalance is replaced by a flash of recognition as she hears a familiar trumpet ring in the distance, and then more wheels at both sides. Her steel eyes seem to harden at this and her hand reaches out for the daggers on his lap, which he shoves in her direction without much care.

"'Kay, I see you got a nice flashy sword on your hip." By instinct, Gladion touches the handle of it in question. "How well can you use it?"

She tickles his proud side with uncanny ease. Her voice is not teasing, she's genuinely curious and he's even more curious as to why she's asking in the first place. "I would say I'm fairly skilled. More than most, definitely."

If possible, her grin widens even more. "Good! Listen, my teammates, if you can even call them that, are pretty useless. I'm surprised they managed to take the other carts without tripping with air, so I'm gonna do business in my own way." He isn't sure what she means with _business _and _her own way_, but what little he's seen thus far from her leads him to believe it can't be good. "If nasty pirate comes here, get rid of them. They’re dangerous people. Don't be shy!"

Moon hurriedly hands him the wooden structure and moves to crouch on the plank they sit on. The wheels rattle on, but he can distinctly hear other carts coming close. "You want to go face them on _your own_? Do you want to get killed?"

His voice holds so much disbelief even she notices it and frowns at him. Even with that little harmless scowl, she looks oddly menacing, in the peace and joy she radiates. "You're so naïve, thinking those guys can even land a blow on me!" Moon stands up and, as predicted, a dark red wagon slides into view, heads and blades peering as well. "'Kay, I'm gonna bounce there. Hold the fort for a second!"

And Gladion thinks that he might finally be at peace when he sees her jump from his wagon to another, but he's terrified out of his peace as he hears guttural screams of pain coming from the neighboring wagon. Something red sprays from under the bonnet and Gladion wants to think it's just the wind, but Moon comes out and tackles one buccaneer so expertly he's shell-shocked and rooted to his place. The show is so gross he feels blood might land on his face if she keeps up that pace.

She, however, would truly be a worthy rival to his sword, that's for sure.

Watching her in her violent spree of massacring the enemy's wagon, he doesn't notice another wagon inching closer to his, and he only realizes that someone is coming close when he hears a cackle and the familiar noise of a blade being released, raising to the sun to cut his arm in half before his blade flashes through the thin, dry air, brushes the fabric of the bonnet behind him and stabs the bandit right through the shoulder, blood sprouting from the wound and tainting his face.

And just as the bandit slides off the plank of the wagon with a push, Gladion twists his sword and decisively cuts through the ropes holding their wagon's horses close, preferring that to bloodshed, and the enemy's wagon is abruptly stopped as the other to his right continues its ride just as usual.

Moon appears from under the bonnet again and jumps back to his wagon, and she hasn't even said a single word before he's got something to complain about. "Couldn't you have told me there were people behind me? I know you saw him coming."

"That wouldn't have been fun," Moon comments simply, stretching her alarmingly blood-soaked legs off the plank. "Also, don't be dramatic. You told me you could handle yourself with the sword just fine but you aim for the _shoulder_? You're so classy."

Gladion's expression sinks into slight discomfort, all shadowed by the overall tension that still clings to his body in the wake of this conflict. Strangely enough, everything seems to be calm now, and Moon looks oddly at ease, which further proves his point that she must be insane to do all she did and not be tired at all. "I don't need to stab them through their guts to take them out. You're too aggressive."

He would have expected her to be angry at his half-boiled insult, or for her to pick on the spite of his tone, but she instead smiles further and stretches her arms up. Her daggers are safely placed on her hips. "I'm not aggressive. I'm just getting the job done." Her eyes have fallen close to take in the beams of sunlight, which glide on her cheeks like kisses and light up her pale skin. She looks oddly blissful. "We're getting close to Gemstone Village, aren't we?"

Blinking, he turns his head to the front. Distracted by the rucks of battle and Moon's sudden appearance, Gladion hadn't noticed the shadows of Gemstone Village beginning to appear in the horizon, tinted in pale blue against the shadows of the faraway mountains. "It seems like we are."

And it seems like she will soon be off his hair, he also thinks, but Moon very quickly counters that fact and points at somewhere to the _left _of where they are headed. He feels something fall on his shoulders at the thought of her being around him for any longer, much like the weight of responsibility or the likely possibility of danger and trouble with her around him.

"There's a small lake in the Everspring Woods. There should be nobody around there at this hour, and I need to take a quick dip to rinse off this gross muck." The points vaguely at the blood on her thighs as if it's just _mud _and he sweats profusely at her disregard for it. "I also gotta wash my daggers. Wouldn't wanna infect my apple next time I have one."

Her words, as always, open so many questions for him to ask, but he opens none of those boxes and instead shakes the most obvious topic in her statement. "You just want to go take a bath in a lake?"

Her expression of perpetual glee really makes it seem like whatever happened earlier had been a fever dream, but she's still breathing a bit hard and some blood has dried on the edges of her fingers. "You wouldn't wanna march into Gemstone Village with your pretty shirt full of blood, right? Blood is super hard to take off your clothes."

Only when she finishes talking does he look over his shoulder to see that indeed, his right shoulder is dotted with red patches. A hand to his neck also proves that his skin is inked as well, but at least he's safe and sound. The wince he lets out at the discovery makes her hum in pleasure.

"I take that as a yes then."

He had just begun his adventure and it already seems like he's in more trouble than what he had bargained for.

* * *

Gemstone Village is much, much bigger than he had expected. Maps clearly don't make justice to the giant that this place is, so open and so wide it's like the world is on its knees and looking at it from heaven. Cherry blossoms are scattered everywhere he can see, even at the top of the cliffs in the altitudes of the village. Willows of lush leaves bend over the wide, crystalline lake that invades the center of the place, where people fish and have tea in a peaceful conversation.

There's not a single cloud in the sky when they make it into the village. Gladion is leading the horses into the village while Moon walks a few feet before him, looking around with curious eyes. People meander around from house to house, and there's a lingering scent of brewed tea that soaks the warm air.

It's almost too warm. Gladion can already feel a sheen of sweat on his scalp, but she seems ignorant of this issue. Her vibrant demeanor is further proven as she sharply turns around and leaps towards the back of the wagon. He's ignorant of her moves, trying to grab his bearings, but he's very aware that she never stops moving and it's getting increasingly annoying.

Much to his surprise, Moon has grabbed a stack of boxes full of fruits and is walking past him with relative ease. As she turns to look at him, he sees that the boxes partially conceal her face and he really has to wonder how her seemingly frail arms can support such heavy load. "What are you doing, standing there like a tree?"

"I was about to ask you the same," he responds, watching her balance the top box and flinching as it almost falls. "What exactly are you going to do with those?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Moon speaks like he's offended her, but her face, everlastingly smiley and acting as if everything is okay, shows another feeling, much more peaceful than whatever annoyance she could feel at him. "We're delivering these. And we'll collect the money for that poor guy." She says _poor _with distinct mischief crinkling her eyes, making him think she's being a tidbit fake about that. "So it'd be super nice of you to help."

Untying the horses and leaving them by the tranquil lake, he crosses his arms. "What, do you think I'm your delivery guy or something? I have other things to do."

"Of course not," her grin widens more, if possible. It's a sight that by itself crawls uncanny annoyance out of him, much like a fisher grabs fish from the lake at their feet. "But all of us need some money, right? If you don't help out, I'll take it all and you won't see a single coin!"

Moon doesn't wait for him to catch up. Her words, despite not being a threat, somehow ring a certain sense of fear within him. It's unclear how she's managed to get him deep in her business not only once, but _twice_, because he's actually obeying her, moved by his own responsibilities and damning every single god that put her on his way to this village.

When he catches up with her, a stack of his own on his arms, she's reading a small note. "Pottery Teashade Shop, eh? What a funny name," Moon comments as she walks blindly around the place, miraculously dodging kids and a whole lamppost as she talks. He's dimly certain she's got a silver lining of luck. "Whatever stuff they're cooking around here is stuffing my nose."

Whatever she wants to achieve saying that is unclear, but she makes a sharp turn to the left and dodges an old lady by a hair's worth. He's a bit taller than her, barely, and he has one box less than her, so he can clearly see the way. How she's dodging everyone is a mystery.

Just as he thinks about that, they turn a corner and stumble into a street of houses and the smell of tea intensifies to the point he's almost drowsy. Moon must have a whole bouquet of 4-leaf clovers in her pockets to get so far so quickly. The tea shop comes to sight a few steps and a sigh later, where Moon leaves the boxes on the ground and looks behind her to see Gladion balancing a box on top of another.

She puts her hands on her hips and her eyes wrinkle with malice. "I've seen snails crawl faster than you!"

Gladion promptly leaves the boxes right beside hers and frowns at her. Just as he's about to talk, he hears the front door open, bells accompanying the swish of the door, so he opts to not respond. He feels that extending this conversation will only end with him with a headache and he really doesn't want that.

The woman that comes to greet them is in a rush. She wears a very pretty pink dress, flowers imprinted on the fabric and handling a fan with acute precision, closing it only to greet the two newcomers. "Good afternoon! You must have my lovely tea leaves, correct? I'm surprised to see such young people around instead of the nice merchant that usually comes by."

Moon pulls a face close to a grimace, but it quickly drops as soon as it's up. "He sent us here instead. He got busy with another delivery, so we're here to provide this town with the best tea they'll ever see."

Her words ring hollow and they are artificially decorated with undeniable charm, which the woman falls for immediately, taking in Moon's beaming grin and not reaching to see how Moon looks at him with a now playful smirk, making him grind his teeth at how well it all worked out.

The woman crouches down and opens the box. Her eyes immediately spark up as she sees what lies inside, taking out a bunch of leaves to touch them and then almost squeal over the seemingly great quality. "Please, come in! The tea shop is a bit packed right now, but I will make you some excellent tea with these!"

Gladion is quick to grab the remaining boxes, making an act of his manners and very much ignoring how Moon lets him be with all of the remaining packages.

They follow the woman into the tea shop. It's a fairly big place of red walls, orange ornaments, and tall ceilings, everything littered with paper lamps and the overpowering smell of berries and boiling water taking over all his senses. It's almost like Faba's laboratory, but nicer and much more appetizing.

Gladion puts the boxes on the table and the owner of the shop rummages through them curiously, pulling out a few little bags of some tea, holding them up with a smile. "This tea is super special and very revitalizing. I'll invite you two to a cup of this, I'm sure you have had a tiring day."

Oh, that's a grave understatement. Moon nods and asks for one, and if Gladion had wanted to take advantage of the woman's kindness, he would have asked for two. Today had truly been exhausting; it still is.

Orders taken, she leaves the two alone for the time being.

Moon is seated only two feet away from him and he can simply _feel _her moving, swinging her legs and drumming her fingers against the table as she looks around. "I've never been to Gemstone Village. I've always wanted to come by."

"I… really didn't ask," he deadpans, mumbling against his hand.

And she grins. Again. She extends her palms against the cold table and looks at him in a way that says his opinion doesn't matter, that she will just talk anyway. "I know. I just thought you should know. Maybe that way you'll stop glaring at the table like it killed your family."

The comment is poorly timed and terribly handled, but neither her words or _she_ have the power to get through him, so he lets it slide off his back and mind like gravel down a mountain. These must be the 'socializing pleasantries' that Faba had warned him about; if they're this mild, though, he can let them slide.

Despite the bundle of trouble and smiles glued to him now, part of him is admittedly itching to explore this place and get himself settled, because this impromptu trip to the tea shop had been improvised and Gladion doesn't appreciate going out of his comfort zone– and his comfort zone are his _plans_. Improvising isn't his forte.

Moon is already something he hadn't anticipated but at least she won't hold him down for much longer. Or so he hopes.

The woman comes back a bit later with two steaming cups of rose-colored tea, which surprisingly smells very fruity. Moon immediately goes to grab the teacup and gets burnt, shaking off the feeling with a wince. Gladion patiently waits for it to cool down as the woman grabs a stool and sits by them.

"You guys coming here is truly a blessing. We have had so many issues with pirates here lately I was running out of tea for the people seeking refuge." A sigh leaves her lips. "I'm glad everyone is safe, though. Things are relatively calm now."

Moon is still blowing on her fingers when she speaks. "Have they been causing trouble here as well?"

"Oh, lots. They are insufferable, going after little kids with the money from their parents. They just want money and more money, and I don't even know what it's for!" A shake of her head, gestures of her hands. The distress in her voice is heavy. "Some guys stole a lot of money from Joe, the blacksmith, and Jeremiah and his kids were mugged by a pair of brainless grunts. They truly are the worst."

Gladion had always heard good things about Gemstone Village: the quality of the goods, the gentle people, the good food, the great temperatures (currently debatable, seeing how stuffed it's getting in the shop), but never this. Never the criminals, never the ease with which you could be ambushed at the desert, never the cloud of problems that seem to be surrounding this peaceful, big village.

"I'm… sorry this town has been targeted like this," he says, trying to convey genuine lament, simply to be polite. Maybe it's because she looks tired, or perhaps she really does _not _want to talk about it any longer, but Gladion feels compelled to fill in the gaps again. "Hasn't anyone tried to help in any way?"

She sighs, and Moon blinks. The owner's shoulders fall heavily and all posedness that used to remain suddenly shatters. Frustration bubbles in her voice and in the way she closes her eyes in resignation. "The mayor has posted many offers to hunt down these criminals, but every time somebody drops by, they never do anything! It's useless, it doesn't matter how many come, they always fail."

"I'm sure someone will come by soon," Moon tries, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder comfortingly for a short lapse of time, then retreating it. "But hasn't anybody managed to track down these guys? Is the mayor still looking for people?"

"Of _course _she is!" she says, sighing, blinking very slowly as if to not cry. Moon, surprisingly, seems untouched by this, albeit a bit more sympathetic, and he hopes he looks just as collected and fine with the owner's antics. "There's some campaign going on right now I think–" she says after a short minute, fumbling with her hands on the table. "I think the mayor is searching for people. And she's offering a very big pay, like, a _lot _of gold and coins. She's just as tired of this as I am."

A little pause. Something reacts within Moon, much like a happy and giddy trigger, because she's leaning a bit closer, eyes narrowed. "How much?"

"Uh… maybe a whole silk bag of gold pieces and 400 coins? It's all we can afford, really."

Something in Moon's face changes, so much so that Gladion sees it even when he's not focusing on her; but when he shifts his eyes towards hers, a growing smile has curled her expression into sheer satisfaction, much like that of a goblin in those books he used to read when he was little.

And how chipper she's about it clearly doesn't help either.

He reaches a quick conclusion, eyes narrowed in distaste. "You can't be serious."

Her smile doesn't falter a single bit. If anything, the grin grows inch by inch until she leans back on her chair, tilting it backward, and looks at him with a very suspicious expression that promises a _lot _of trouble.

He can already see another headache coming.

Her eyes sparkle. "Well, it looks like we're gonna go kick some pirates' ass, then!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gladion: what do u have there  
Moon: a KNIFE
> 
> introducing: MOON. The most chaotic and antagonistic piece of shit you'll ever meet. Wild. Unbeatable. Words can't describe this woman (other than annoying and many more to come.) I adore this woman with all my being and just WAIT because they're gonna get in trouble and she's WILD. Definitely my favorite character eVER.
> 
> Yes I love having them bicker but this chapter's bickering is TRASH. Gladion might be terribly brooding but she's sassy and we're gonna have fun seeing her make him suffer. Just wait until they get serious.
> 
> but yes get ready fOR SOME TROUBLE bc 'honey. u got a big storm coming'


	3. Gemstone Village

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion tries to enjoy a quiet life and adapt to his new situation, fails miserably, and adapts to the bizarre situations Moon keeps springing on him.

The owner of the teahouse had been kind enough to offer a room for the two after wrongly assuming they were a thing – news flash: they aren't even friends – but Gladion had kindly declined the offer and looked for a hostal far away from the tea house, where Moon would be staying for now.

The building is high on a hill, close to a well and to a blacksmith, which actually fits with what he's looking for. Things are a bit more widespread than he'd like, but it works anyway. His room overlooks the lake and the sunrise had woken him up peacefully, almost like a kiss on the forehead or the caress of a loved one. Something he had never experienced, but this is the closest to such affection he'd ever get.

He eats breakfast slowly. The tavern under his room is relatively cheap and the food is better than he'd bargained for, with soft bread and lots of water for the warm temperatures. The waiter is nice enough to give him an apple for the day, so Gladion really is looking forward to today.

His first task for the day is to explore the village to find any information on these pirates that are harassing the village. If the teahouse owner had said the truth, perhaps he would encounter one or two of them and ask them for details nicely. If they refused to, he would just do things the hard way; they can't be that strong, after all.

It's the perfect plan.

So, Gladion strolls outside. He stretches his arms, sighs out as the sun hits his pale cheeks. His green eyes blink to take in the early blue of the sky, listening to the leaves rustle and to the low murmur of the people's chatter. What a great way to start the day, he thinks.

His eyes catch the color of beige in a big column of ornaments and stone. It's a very high construction with dragons and other creatures engraved on them, copper and gold bathing the pinnacles at the corners. At the bottom, circular portals with a distinct reddish mist swirl into attention. If Gladion tried hard enough, he'd make out the shapes of houses on the other sides.

Those must be the national portals Faba had mentioned a few times. They serve as doors to other places in the Dominion, controlled by maidens like the ones he can see now, both dressed in red and orange. Thinking about it, maybe using these would be easier than traveling by foot, so now he might be able to get far away from here whenever he needs it.

But as he's walking closer, one of the maidens stops him. "Sorry, young man. Access is denied at the moment to every commoner of this town."

His eyebrows sink in confusion. "What do you mean? I just wanted to peer in. I really mean no trouble."

"My apologies, but that's not the issue at hand," she elaborates, crossing her arms and looking at him kindly. She doesn't seem to hold a grudge of any kind on him. "Due to the heavy influx of criminals through these portals, most of them being spies in disguise, we have been prohibited from giving access to those without proper identification."

It's almost offensive how this woman seems to think he's a pirate, which he clearly _isn't_, even if he's very well aware that the face he's pulling off right now is anything but angelic. This issue is not that important but he doesn't want anybody to assume he's a criminal, and the lack of resources suddenly pisses him off. "Sorry, but I'm not a criminal. I really don't mean to cause any harm."

"Don't even bother trying, Gladion. I have said the same to her but she must think I'm a nasty grunt from the Blackring. How _uncool_."

That voice is hauntingly familiar, so when he looks up, he's not surprised to see Moon sitting nonchalantly on a part of the structure– more precisely, on top of a dragon's head, polishing her dagger with a stone. The maiden seems startled by the discovery. "Now, what are _you _doing there?"

"Isn't it obvious?" More polishing noises. Moon holds her dagger to the light. "I'm sharpening my daggers. They refused to let me through so I thought I'd just sit by and kill some time." Gladion had been hoping to have a peaceful day, but as she smiles down at him like the little spawn she is, he realizes fate really must be messing with him.

The maiden seems highly alarmed by the altitude she sits at. "Miss! You shouldn't be sitting so high up! You might hurt yourself!"

Gladion shakes his head, hands on his hips as Moon chuckles at them. "Don't lose much sleep over it. She would survive the fall, unfortunately."

The gasp she lets out is so loud and so _fake _he slightly flinches in disdain. The annoying and troublesome assassin at the top stretches her legs and pushes herself off the edge, falling graciously right beside him to grin at him further like everything is alright and he's just another joke for her. "My, you are in a great mood today!"

Admittedly, Gladion is not a morning person. It's always about sluggish groans and yawns and an overpowering longing to stay in bed, but today had been different because this place is new and he was so excited to explore it. But here _she _is now to destroy what little harmony he had pulled together and he loathes her existence so, _so _much.

The worst part is that the sun is brimming on her like she's an angel and he knows she's anything but that. "I was until you decided to come and hunt me down. Are you stalking me?"

"Don't flatter yourself." Moon turns to the maiden, who seems a bit tense at their uncanny exchange. "She told me that there are so many pirates passing through these that they are asking for a Dominion Insignia to pass through."

"Yes, exactly. Well, unless you are a Saint Riftwalker and can just walk right through, but you guys don't look very saint-like to me." Moon and Gladion stare at each other with equal levels of ironic interest, hers being chipper than his. "You can come back with a Dominion insignia. But, for now, immediate access to Reikyuu or the Pongii Waterfalls is restricted."

He can't say anything against that, really. And it's not like he needs this desperately, so he isn't willing to invest any more time on this topic. Judging by how Moon had been sitting on top of the damn thing and is retreating right now, her interest might be even lesser than his– but that's how she behaves most of the time, after all, with quick dispassion and happy smiles, so he doesn't know if he should be surprised.

After a quick thank you to the maiden, Moon tugs at his arm down the small hill, down the faintly beaten track. The lake glitters under the radiant sunshine as she drags him away. Her grip is surprisingly strong. "Okay, let's get breakfast! I'm starving."

Gladion, however, has something to say about this and yanks himself out of her grasp. He's had enough of her shenanigans and she needs to understand that he's here for motives much more important than whatever monetary benefits she seeks in Gemstone Village.

"Alright, _no_. Listen carefully, because I won't repeat myself." She turns around with questioning eyes, eyebrows disappearing under her side-swept fringe. "I don't have any business to do with you. Yesterday was one thing because that issue with the pirates happened and I'm grateful for your assistance; but from here on, I will be handling things my own way. And I won't follow you anymore."

He finishes with a deep exhale, as though he's just gone on a run. Moon stares at him blankly, even with the little traces of glee pulling at her lips. She's rooted to her place, hands behind her back and blinking sparsely, only to then breathe out what looks like a chuckle and Gladion can see himself repeating the same spiel again.

Except that he doesn't need to do that, because she nods and puts her hands on her hips, much like him.

"Okay, so you don't wanna team up? I'm cool with that. I don't like people holding me down after all. You're all slowpokes compared to yours truly." He squares his jaw at the perfectly timed proverbial punch. "But let me tell you one thing: the bounty is _very_ big, and we work pretty well as a team, that much I can say, and I bet you know this too. Besides, this place is full of wolves: you don't want any hero wannabe taking your money, right?"

The amount of truths she's accumulated nearly makes him stumble. It's pretty unfair she can be so quick on her feet and distracted but so observant too. It's as though she's been watching him too and has drawn conclusions similar to his. He wonders, just momentarily, what a girl like her could think of someone as normal as himself. Watching her eyes lingering on his for a reaction, maybe she actually has no opinion and just knows he's good, or maybe she's holding those opinions to herself.

Gladion crosses his arms. "Would you call yourself that wolf hero coming for the prize?"

Her smile curves even further, turning mischievous. "Don't even doubt it! And I'm sure I'll be much quicker about it than you'll ever be, so having me against you is really _not_ ideal. You're either with me or against me." Then, she grins and puts her hands back behind her. "Besides, you're pretty good at what you do! I wouldn't wanna leave a guy like you alone just yet."

Gladion might be very fond of his lone-wolf lifestyle – which he hasn't really consolidated just yet – but he's more logical about his options than to disregard her arguments as petty excuses from a chaotic assassin. She's all about lightning and sunshine, all translated into absolute chaos yet no evil whatsoever he can discern, no ill intents and no frown in her eyes.

He gives in a bit sooner than he would have liked, moved by her logic. He will make of her company a goldmine. "You truly are insufferable."

"What can I say? I'm very insistent!" Moon turns around sharply, tilting on her heels as she jogs down the hill. Gladion follows her at a slower pace. "I've heard way too many people telling me I'm a pest, so that should tell you enough." Snickering playfully, she turns as she jogs backward. "You could say I'm gonna pester you forever!"

He blinks twice to take in her mirthful expression and sighs, hands deep in his pockets. "What really tells me a lot is that you are taking that as a compliment."

"One's gotta be positive!" she responds, shrugging, lowering her speed to let him catch up.

Gladion looks up from the dirt under his feet, as he had taken an odd liking to looking anywhere but the bouncing bundle of energy a few feet away from him. They are walking into the part of the village with red houses, where restaurants and other businesses are open to the public. At this time of the day, very few places throw any shade to the street, and this part of the village is sadly not an exception.

He wipes a bead of sweat off his forehead. He _hates _summertime. "Where exactly are we going?"

Moon puffs her cheeks, looking at him from over her shoulder. "I told you earlier, we're grabbing breakfast." Before Gladion can say he's already had breakfast, his stomach lets out an almighty roar, evidently not content with what he had eaten at the hostal. Impish laughter ensues. "I heard that!"

Even in the general noise of the crowd around them, she can manage to hear that small detail and he can't help but wonder how much patience he will need to deal with her.

* * *

It becomes quickly apparent to him that whatever Faba had been feeding him in Ludwig Town was barely a _breakfast_, and by that rule, nor was the small food he had at the hostal.

So, when they sit down in the Pottery Tea Shop and they are given steaming plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, croissants and bread, it feels like he's in a completely different universe.

It all looks delicious and definitely ranks as the tastiest thing he's seen in _ages_, maybe _forever_. All he had always had in Ludwig Town had been bread with water, sometimes milk and sometimes an egg and then meat, because as Faba usually said, "_A healthy, sufficiently fed stomach thrives more than a stuffed one_." Gladion had read a few cooking books, so he knows a little more about cuisine than that – Faba, however, in his life-lasting mission to make Gladion feel misery, never allowed him to put all that knowledge to the test.

Moon looks completely unfazed by the size of the dish, so he wonders if this is the actual standard and he had been alienated all his life in terms of his diet.

Realizing he hasn't moved since food had been served, Moon's fork stops right as she breaks the creamy scrambled mix by the middle. "What's wrong? Haven't you ever had, you know, _breakfast_?"

He feels like telling her about the intricacies of his life back at Ludwig Town would be a must if he explains he's never really had breakfast this big, so he silently swallows the lump piling at his throat and dismisses her with his hand.

Gladion takes a bite of scrambled eggs with some bacon, subtly following her ways without her noticing. Moon clears her throat, then drinks some water to help it go down while Gladion almost _moans _at how good the food tastes, immediately distracted and digging in for more. "I'm surprised you haven't asked me for, y'know, formal plans and all that stuff."

He looks up from his food as the daze fades away, the food tasting warm in his mouth but falling cold in his stomach. "Well, I assumed you had some sort of plan to get through all of this." There's a small pause that Moon doesn't seem to be willing to break, causing him to squint at her. "You _do _have a plan, don't you? Because I'm not going to do all the planning for us, especially when _you _are the one who mentioned that we should be teaming up."

By the way Moon purses her lips and stops eating for a second, it's like she's her mouth full of answers, but she delivers none and lets out a sigh. Her fingers drum against the table as she looks around, as if aware that people will hear her. "So, uh, you know these pirates are sort of all around the Kandrus Dominion, right?"

Gladion's eyebrow inches up without his own consent in surprise. "Yeah, of course I know. How do _you _know, though?"

She leans back on her seat, a satisfied grin showing up. "I've been almost everywhere in the Dominion. It's only natural that I have a vague idea of what's going on in these parts. I'm a little bit of a busybody. Not gonna stop moving, and all that."

A pause issues after that, but he decides to wait it out this time, and she clears her throat again.

"Anyway, so there are a few smaller companies of pirates all around the Dominion. I don't know if there's anything else in that other Empire beyond the Soakedge Strait, but clearly there are a _lot _of pirates here." Moon grabs her fork and twirls it between her fingers against the plate, moving the bacon around. "_But_ we don't know if they are pirates. Maybe they're just robbers. People call everything and everyone pirates lately. Even the good dirty guys."

Gladion ponders her words for a second. "If that were the case, then would you say that the bandits we encountered yesterday were just that, robbers? Because they looked like pirates to me. And they were headed to Gemstone Village."

"You're right about that." Moon concedes, very unexpectedly for him, then goes silent for a pair of seconds. In the background, the door opens and a pot breaks into a mad boil. Her eyes blink into focus, towards him. "How do _you _know, though?"

"Well, how did _you _know?" he counters, not in a bad way but definitely not very amicably. Moon's smile flattens in distaste. "If I recall correctly, you also labeled them as pirates, didn't you?" His memory is foggy at best and he might be making a miscalculation, but he's pretty sure she named them as such.

Her expression turns a bit harder at that. The tiniest of breaths being sucked past her lips as she drinks more water. "I've been chasing after them for a while, now. I'm a bit of a pirate chaser. I go after anything dangerous, suspicious and moving." Whatever implications that her sudden tension had generated vanish with a joyful grin. "But the problem is, there are a few small pirate companies that are just thugs, and each has a different uniform and I don't have the time to memorize all of them."

Gladion takes a bite of his toast, the surface coated with peach jam. His body relishes in the heavenly taste and he purposefully ignores Moon's grimace of horror at his choice of jam. "What do you suggest, then?"

"First, you need to tell me how you know they're pirates, too. Let's be on the same page."

He gulps down his warm bread as he talks. "They have been in my hometown pretty often and claimed themselves to be the best pirates ever. And they said they belong to a pretty rich company, too." And they also offered him a spot in their fleet, which he doesn't say. "They were pretty blunt and boastful. They had the same uniform as the bandits we fought yesterday."

Moon turns pensive at this. He only notices she's stopped drumming her fingers when she resumes the action. "Rich and powerful, huh? That's a pretty vague thing to brag about, though." He agrees with a nod. "Did they tell you the name of their company?"

Memories flash in his mind. Them being shell-shocked at him threatening a company as big and rich as theirs, and right as they were about to say the name, he had gone on and interrupted them.

The admission of his oversight is too grave for him to address it, so he directs his eyes to his food and shakes his head.

Moon makes nothing of his sudden silence, not realizing he's silently cursing his own pride, and mulls over the issue once more. "If they're pirates, then we need to know the name of their company first, to know what we're going up against. If they're a minor group of gangsters, then we should be able to get the job done quickly."

"How are we supposed to know that? Clearly nobody here knows anything about them other than how miserable and evil they are." In a regretful act of imitation, Gladion finds himself drumming his fingers on his lap. "We should do some proper research before jumping to conclusions or looking for them."

"Why do you assume nobody's gonna know anything? I'm not gonna go up to them and ask, but there's no way to do any research if there's nothing to investigate with," Moon sighs and her back hits the chair with a small thud that she doesn't try to hide. Even as her face is notably duller in deep thought, there is still a certain spark of joy and amusement in her eyes. It's irritating. "I say we just pound them to the ground and ask later."

"Right, just to garner more attention from them and draw trouble in?"

A pout curls her expression. "You're no fun, Gladion." But the grimace soon disappears. "If I had had more time at the wagon to inspect their uniforms, I would've been able to identify their insignias and colors. All of them are just punks with odd colors, how am I supposed to tell them apart?"

Gladion nonchalantly takes a bite of scrambled eggs with bacon, the mixture being by far the best thing she had unknowingly recommended doing so far. "Maybe by making a conscious effort to memorize a simple pattern of, I don't know, three colors?" Moon fills her mouth with a forkful of bacon. "Had you been less violent yesterday and maybe you would have stopped to notice that detail."

"And let them jump off the cart and rot in the desert?"

"It would have been a much more rightful death than what you gave them, that's for sure."

"I killed them with a smile on my face." Chewing on her breakfast, she points at her stuffed cheeks and face, stained with a bit of butter. "Anyone being killed with a smile will die happily. That's how it works!"

"No, it isn't. That's just very… out of the ordinary," he deadpans. He's not even scared of her at this point, but he's severely skeptical of her manners, so he remains polite about it.

Moon bites into her toast, all of it filled to the brim with butter, disregarding his comment with another smile while twirling the butter knife into her hand. The timing of it _is _slightly fearsome. "Doesn't matter! They would've met their end one way or another. Next time they'll know better than to chase after a wagon piloted by me."

"You really need to make things more complicated, don't you?" Moon shrugs and Gladion sighs in exasperation. Her happy-go-lucky personality is an utter oddity for him. "I was just headed in this direction and not only did they have to appear, but also _you_. Arceus."

"Is _that_ why you're here, then?"

"What do you mean by '_that_'?"

She dabs more butter on her toast. It's like she's trying to give herself a butter intoxication. The surface is disgustingly yellow. "I thought you were here because you were just running away from those pirates. Like a runaway edgy boy from those sappy adventure books." Her vague words are muffled by her eating, but she's at least merciful enough to be slow and calm about her eating, unlike… the rest of her habits. "So I guess you aren't running away? I should've known, you aren't half bad with that sword of yours."

Gladion should have expected this topic to come up if they were to work in tandem, but he finds the answer to simply _not_ pop up in his head because there are many more layers to it than just 'a reason'. The word _reason _sounds too shallow. A lot of feelings and emotional issues he doesn't really understand yet are also to blame for his departure from Ludwig Town, and she can't know about that part before he can understand it himself.

So he opts to deflect it, as usual, putting another step of distance between them. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Much to his surprise, she doesn't push him. Moon nods and continues eating as if it was fine and nothing had happened, which brings him both confusion but great relief. The thin layer of patience, almost a kind lining in her personality, seems to make the topic easier to move on from. He wonders if she will forget about it like she's appearing to do now; or if she will maybe ask about it in the future, when he's more prepared to explain his motives.

When he fully trusts her.

Which he never will, but it's whatever.

Moon looks around, distracted. "There's a bulletin board there with some missions and stuff. We could take some of them and explore the area. Maybe we'll come across a bandit or two – we can interrogate them too. Though I guess you're not gonna want to come with, right?"

But Gladion sees that her usual default smile is turning into a grin as she eyes the paperboard in the distance. "You really are just after the money, aren't you?"

"I like coins, and traveling is expensive. It's meant to be!" Moon abruptly pushes herself up. Only now does Gladion realize that she's managed to finish her plate, whereas he's only halfway through the thing. "I'll go check it out and take one mission. Or two. Or three!"

And just like that, she retreats. Not even a goodbye or a 'take care', probably assuming that he, as becoming of their dynamic, will take care and that they will see each other again, because this mission will very likely not kill her.

Not to mention that they are a team now, much to his current and inner frustration – things aren't going exactly as they should, and he _despises _not having all the control he would like.

But he has to admit she can keep company. And she is… not that bad as a warrior. She's in fact very good. Possibly better than him. Perhaps he will use this time without her to actually explore and train around the lands surrounding the village.

A tiny part of his brain asks if she's leaving so quickly because he had refused to tell her his motives, but he ignores it and his eyes drift down to see that she hasn't left any money, and he's still eating.

Gladion looks for her among the crowd in the tea shop and he spots her holding a paper and a smile bigger than the whole ocean, unable to conceal her excitement.

"I'm _not _going to foot the bill!"

But Moon is already half-out the tea shop and waving a distracted hand at him. "I'll pay you when I'm back!"

And he's suddenly alone again. The bells chime outside, signifying the door has been closed again. Mid-summer breeze sneaks into the place and soothes his irritation just as her empty seat stares right at him.

The sudden lack of talking around him falls weird and unfamiliar on his heart. It's the first time he finds himself alone after parting from his hometown and all he can say is that Moon is, definitely, equal parts interesting and bothersome.

He continues eating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter: everyone dies. Havoc. Chaos.  
this chapter: peaceful conversation over a plate of breakfast. don't you love planning things out perfectly (like they're not gonna go terribly wrong. pls get used to things going wrong here because that's literally what everything is gonna be about)
> 
> "Gladion takes a bite of his toast, the surface coated with peach jam. His body relishes in the heavenly taste and he purposefully ignores Moon's grimace of horror at his choice of jam." vs She dabs more butter on her toast. It's like she's trying to give herself a butter intoxication. The surface is disgustingly yellow."] DYNAMIC AND RECURRING PUNCHLINE: UNPACKED. NEXT.
> 
> next chapter is gonna be the first 'important' one mark my words


	4. Emeralds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion and Moon explore a cave full of wonder together. Chaos ensues along with a revelation,

Moon comes back from her mission a few days later, maybe three, maybe two; and his personal training and gear upgrading concludes that day. Those moments of solitude had given him time to collect his thoughts and explore the village.

Yet there is one place he had not explored and that's _exactly _where Moon is headed to, steps quick and firm like her life depends on it.

"A dungeon? In Gemstone Village?"

"Haven't you seen that the walls of the village are riddled with holes? Those are caves. There's clearly a treasure in there. How blind can you be?" Her tone is just as smart and unbearable as usual, but the implications of his ignorance dig deeper than what he can handle, and his eyebrow twitches in annoyance. "I bet there's some nice stuff in there. Most of these people can barely hold a sword, so I'm sure they are still unexplored."

Moon, as always, is already parting without him to explore and he's following her because Arceus knows he cannot leave a discussion unfinished like that. Gladion is more stubborn than a mule and she's not going to leave him with a response right at the tip of his tongue.

"You know, maybe the caves are unexplored because they are dangerous. You must be really naïve to think that people aren't as money-hungry as you are." Moon makes a face at that jab, but she doesn't have the guts to fight back, maybe because he actually is right. That's not stopping her walk, though. Nor is it stopping his chase. "And what tells you there will be treasures in there? Have you done any proper research?"

"My assassin intuition is enough research, so I'm going in there. I bet these people think it's just some nasty cockroach or a little dragon baby." Gladion has no actual argument for that last statement, but he still deems her judgment to be severely skewed. "Where there are caves, there's a treasure. It's a saying as old as time."

"It isn't. You just look eager to get your ass handed to you on a silver platter." Moon dismisses his claims with a waving hand. "If you're so enthusiastic about a little cave, don't you think it would be safer to hire a crew to help you out?"

At this, she finally stops walking and turns to frown at him. More than angry, she seems disappointed. "And share all those sweet coins? That's ridiculous blasphemy."

"What is more ridiculous is that you are so enthusiastic about probably getting killed there."

Moon rolls her eyes as he catches up with her, then continues walking again. Their steps echo against the cold natural rocky walls of the village that surround the small lake of Gemstone Village. Her step is just as profusely stubborn and insistent as her words.

"It's just a small cave, Gladion. It's not a mountain bounty or the Zhar's Citadel." Her voice bubbles with mockery as if he's being ridiculous when he's just being patient and reasonable.

What's so hard in her head and how many loose screws are there in her head for her to just want to nose dive into a dungeon like that?

"Then why do you assume there will be a big treasure in there?"

Moon shrugs. "As long as the end of the cave has the size of a treasure chest, it's fine by me. Or maybe a small suitcase, or a little hole in the wall. Anything is good."

Her constant drive to get in trouble is almost amusing, but it always dawns on him that if _she _gets in trouble, so will he. That's a harder thing to say yes to, he knows, but he still follows her as she makes her way around the lake and under the shadows cast by the cliffs surrounding the village. The water's ripples echo against the rough edges of the pale gray around them.

Soon enough, Moon plants her feet right before the mouth of a cave. She didn't aim for something easy, no– she actually chose the biggest cave, patting the opening with a smirk. "Look at this beautiful cave. Big, fancy and I bet _full _with lots of things for me to take."

"I hope you mean _us_, because I can tell you will somehow throw me into this and I at least hope I'm compensated for this unnecessary trouble."

"That's fancy talk for splitting the treasure between us, right?" Gladion nods, walking to the opening of the cave as he looks around and trying to look _into _it, but the slope into the crevice is so steep he can barely make anything out. "I guess I'm not the only money-hungry person here, huh?"

He doesn't really know what to answer to that, so he opts for silence and what he considers to be the most appropriate question. "Why _this _dungeon, though? There are around four more of these and you had to choose the biggest one?"

"The bigger the dungeon, the bigger the treasure," she states calmly, matter-of-factly and staring down into the abyss with the determination that only a daredevil can muster. "It's common knowledge. Everyone knows this."

"You're just making things up at this point."

"I'm not making anything up as much as I'm gonna prove my own theory right. We're going in." Moon crouches down and peers over the ledge. It's not as steep as it's dark inside, but some patches of light can be seen in the distance, not that far below. "I say we jump in."

"And I say we very carefully tiptoe down there and avoid cracking our skulls in the process." Moon looks up from her position, brilliance disappearing from her eyes and turning into an expression of nonchalance he's becoming increasingly familiar with. "You can jump in if you wish, but I can't promise you a proper burial after that."

Gladion doesn't wait for her this time, being the one at the front as he takes a step forward, carefully testing the ground he steps on. The surface is unnaturally smooth in the darkness, with him treading slowly lest his shoes catch on a hole and he ends up tripping and falling forward like Moon is fated to do. The fact that she isn't following his methods says she's probably calculating the jump.

He's tempted to tell her that everything is fine and she can just launch herself like some stray bullet into the void, but he wants her to try and crack the code. Gladion is admittedly curious as to how she will execute such a trick.

He reaches the passage about a minute later, and he hears the faint noise of shoes moving and something gliding through the air. Moon lands right by him on her two feet, not a single scratch on her pale skin as purple, blue and pink lights dance across her body. "Nailed it."

"Almost nailed yourself on the ground," Gladion comments off-handedly as he makes his way through the passage.

Moon has suddenly gone silent, which prompts him to look around him. He's welcomed by the breathtaking sight of gemstones of pale colors and hues illuminating the small tunnel, different in sizes and shapes. Some are sharp, others are more round, and some flat against the dark gray rocky surface. Everything is purple and unsaturated; a masterpiece of nature, a delight to his sore eyes.

The absence of Moon's chatter makes him look behind, ready to comment that they should hurry before he sees her speeding past him at a breakneck speed and _latch _herself to a big gem that is poking through the wall, her legs wrapped around the jewel and tugging with all her might.

Gladion is spellbound, speechless. When he finds something to say, anything to comment, it comes in a quiet question. "What in the world are you doing?"

"These are Diancie's crystals! Look at the color! No good treasure hunter would miss out on an opportunity this _big_!" Moon is not even regarding him at this point, but she must read confusion in his silence so she elaborates. "Diancie is the guardian of this place, I think! The Pongii told me about it and they said they would pay a _lot _for these!"

As much as he wants to say she's wrong, she actually _might _be right by a small fraction. Some people in Gemstone Village have talked about 'blessings' by Diancie and how it's a very important part of mythology in the zone. Faba might have mentioned the creature a few times too, but nobody has actually seen it, as far as he knows.

And here exists Moon: trying to tug out one of the creature's crystals like some bandit. And worst of it all, the crystal is not even budging, so he lets her give it one exact tug before he's behind her not to join her but to gently remove her from the shiny stone.

"You're like a magpie. You just like to grab onto everything that is shiny." As he successfully removes Moon from the stone and she immediately kicks for him to free her, Gladion loses his balance and lets go of her, then falls backward and meets the ground ass-first, rubbing the small of his back and grunting. "A very clumsy magpie."

Moon recovers quickly and is about to go for the crystal again before he shoves his boot in front of her and makes her trip, falling face-first against the ground. She stops the fall with her arms. "Let me get the crystal!"

"Do you really think you can get it out? It's embedded into the wall, stop fighting against it." Her face is turned from his, which is a shame because he would die to see that stupid smile of hers disappear for once. "Let's get going, we don't have all the time in the world to be here."

When she doesn't move, he grabs the back of her shirt and drags her along with him, very much in the same fashion she had done in the past, and when they are far away enough from the big crystal, Moon seems to recover all her spunk and springs into position by his side. They are exiting the tunnel now, the lights fading and greenery and blue coming into view.

Gladion registers that the air is a bit misty. Normally, dungeons are very humid or totally dry, there's no in-between most of the time. This place seems to be an exception to that rule, though, and it's relatively pleasant to breathe. A very salty smell comes from before them. "I could have done something with my daggers."

She's probably referring to the gem they left behind. Gladion arches an eyebrow. "Yeah, with your superhuman powers. It would have been funny to see you try." Moon has no reaction to this he can see, but her hands are balled into fists, body language contradicting the very smile on her face. "What was that about the Pongii you mentioned before?"

"Oh! Of course!" Moon stops walking and it makes him stop as well, turning his body to look at her. "The Pongii told me that this place is rumored to have very interesting loot and stuff. Apparently, some pirates have been talking about coming to 'the fancy shiny cave in Gemstone Village', and when I asked the tea shop owner about this, she said they were probably here." Gladion tenses immediately at her disregard of this information, shocked she had forgotten about it in favor of– "Oh, and the gems too. They also mentioned the gems."

"And you _forgot _about the pirates? That's the only thing we are in this village for and you _forgot _about it?" Her grin turns into a guilty grimace that tells him more than enough. "You just had to hear about a treasure and lost your mind, didn't you?"

"C'mon, you're being unfair! I got carried away, sure, but we're still here! And we're safe and sound still, too!" Moon puts her fisted hands on her hips and grins proudly, standing tall but unable to bring Gladion out of his disbelief. "And that's all that matters!"

Well, apparently not. He hears a peculiar noise coming from behind them and that's when a wall of stone surges from the end of the tunnel they had come through and closes on them, successfully covering the gem-rich passage and most importantly, _trapping _them.

He's got no time to blame her and think that her pulling on the crystal had caused this because little creatures dig their way up from the ground. They are like crocodiles, except they should be green or brown but these are gray, much like the stone around them, mossy scales and eyes too bright to be natural.

"I think we woke these guys up from their nap," Moon admits, managing to keep a small smile as her hands fidget with the handles of her knives on her hips. "Well, what a shame."

Seeing how those creatures are licking their teeth and hissing in their direction, Gladion knows they won't be able to talk their way through this. Unsheathing his sword, he gives Moon a sideways glance, almost a glare. "If you weren't such an airhead we wouldn't have woken anybody up."

"Look, this is _not _the time to question who is to blame here," clearly her, he knows, and she takes out her daggers and gives them a twirl in her hands, "so let's get through this quickly. We don't have all the time in the world, after all!"

Her borrowing his words as she dashes towards the now _real _creatures does annoy him, but he forgets about it as he takes to these new foes too. There are around six of them in the chamber, so Moon rightfully takes one half as he takes the other.

Moon's profession would render her very vulnerable in a battle like this, he had guessed, because the monsters move with unnatural precision and odd sharpness, aiming for his legs and arms as he swipes his sword back and forth to get rid of them. However, Moon is proving her worth over and over again, moving like a flash between mobs and taking them down almost effortlessly.

Gladion curses under his breath and wills himself to take this seriously, and finally cuts off the heads of two of the mobs before turning around and finishing off another, and he checks on Moon right in time to see her dispatching a squirming creature in her arms, dagger cutting cleanly through the neck.

When she holds up the head, Gladion is surprised to see some sorts of artificial veins prodding from the mechanical skull, and as Moon lets go of it, it crashes with a very telling rattle of pieces being broken, rather than smushed as skin would. "These are totems. I was almost feeling bad for killing off some innocent creatures."

"You really kill fast for someone who feels so bad about it," he comments, stepping through the remains of the rest he had killed just as quickly. He's somewhat proud of being able to keep up with the bolting tornado that she is. "What even are these?"

"Mechanized totems, maybe. Possibly to keep intruders at bay… well, they really _didn't _keep us at bay, but they tried their best." She gives one of the bodies a kick, and she slams her heel on the robotic torso, giving sight to a mess of wires and little lights. "Probably powered by chi."

"Chi? In a _robot_?"

"Chi is the source of energy of every being. It's even inside the earth. Don't be so surprised someone managed to turn it into this mechanic monster." Gladion rolls his eyes at her smart tone, shadowed by the little smile that makes its way into her face "Isn't engineering fun?"

"Not when said engineering tries to bite you in the ass like this." Moon nods in agreement, chuckling, and both turn to the continuation of the dungeon. There is a small difference of leverage in the next hallway, and they would have to climb up a small wall to make it there. "We might find some more of these guys, so let's be quiet this time."

"I don't care about how many we'll see. If there are guardians, it means there's a pretty treasure waiting to be taken." Moon leaves her daggers on her hips, and gives them a little pat as if humoring herself and her wishes. "The more dangerous they are, the better the treasure will be. And that's a fact."

"Don't forget about the pirates _again_."

"I won't. The more pirates there are, the better, too!"

Gladion walks up to the wall. It's covered in vines and the surface is surprisingly wet, almost slick. However, some spots are dry and bumpy enough to fit his feet on it, and when he makes sure Moon is managing too, they begin to climb up the small wall.

He's not used to these activities in the slightest. Faba had always insisted on him staying home and reading books instead of letting him climb the trees in the park like all the other kids were doing, and he had never been allowed to do much physical activity when he was younger because Faba had this sick obsession with him getting hurt, which never ended up happening when Gladion became older.

He struggles a bit with the notion of climbing and his moves are not that coordinated, but he makes it to the top a second after she does. Moon is peering over the ledge, not fully climbing to the top and taking over like he would have expected her to, observing what lies ahead.

"The Pongii were right." Moon mumbles against the ground. "There _are _pirates here. And for sure there are gonna be some good treasures for us."

Indeed, there are a few people ambling about the next open chamber. Structures of wood, carts, and boxes of weapons are easily seen with all the torches spread around the walls. The voices are muffled by the clamor of things being moved and the incomprehensible buccaneer slang, but Gladion can make out a familiar color design. They move like ants in a hole, busy like bees but throwing curses around like only bandits would. Moon has gone still by his side, for once quiet and observing what lies ahead of them without making a fool out of herself. Well, _fool _is not quite the word he should use, because she rarely fails in her deeds, even if she's impulsive to a fault.

"They seem to be unpacking all sorts of things," concludes Gladion, narrowing his eyes to try and see better through the thin natural fog of the cave. "So your Pongii friends were right; they _are _meeting here, of all places."

"I see some shiny stuff at the end of it." Looking at her, a gleam has surfaced in her eyes at the visible treasure deep within the chamber. The sight doesn't give him a good feeling, but her fingers are drumming enthusiastically against the rocky ledge nonetheless. "We need to go get them now. I'm sure they won't mind if we take a piece of the cake."

"We need to stay back for a little first," Gladion observes, shifting his arms as they support him on the edge. "If we watch them for a second, I'm sure we can–"

A scraping noise interrupts him and he barely makes out the blur of Moon's clothing quickly climbing the rest of the ledge and getting on her feet, rushing towards the bandits with a snicker and making Gladion swear. _Loudly_. The bandits might have even heard him because he hears sudden ruckus and loud screams as she launches herself towards them with wicked vigor, and Gladion has no option but to follow her.

He can already feel his left hand shaking in emotion, anger flaring at her lack of patience; but he hides the gesture with the brave hold of his sword tight under his fingers.

He should have seen this coming, in hindsight. If she had latched herself to a piece of crystal and it had taken him physical force to tear her off the damn thing, of course she would shoot straight for the bounty without thinking twice.

"Greetings!" she salutes, avoiding a bandit coming from behind her and knocking him out with her elbow, smiling all the while. "I'm here to take some of your stuff, if you don't mind! We're in a bit of a hurry, so it'd be really nice if you just let us come in!"

"Who the hell are you!?" Another screams as Gladion enters the scene with half the enthusiasm, but kicking another bandit down with the back of his sword just as violently.

"We're just here to grab some spare money!" Moon presses all too chipperly, a knife to the shoulder of one and the other to the stomach of another. "Please, just hold on tight! We'll be done soon!"

If there is something Gladion has to admit, is that Moon is not bad to fight with. Granted, she's going to be a royal mess to strategize with (if she can even hold herself back and wait for such thing to happen) but she's very efficient. And _quick_. He can barely see her jumping from one bandit to another as she takes them down: sometimes one by one, others using her legs and arms to kick two on one go.

Gladion has to resort to using his sword to give them wounds deep enough to draw out blood. They are heading towards him with all sorts of knives and clearly out for the kill, so he should be just as aggressive as them. One of them comes for him from behind and he quickly turns his sword to stab him through the stomach, kicking him off the blade with his leg before aiming for another one with the same precision.

Using his blade to stab another through the side, he uses the impulse of the move to aim for another. Swordfighting makes him feel light on his feet, almost _free _like a bird. His moves are not as gracious as Moon's but he's efficient, pushing through the melees of pirates with surgeon precision, eyebrows knit in precision and subtle annoyance, hearing Moon's laughter in the short distance.

"What's with all this noise?" A voice comes from deeper within the chamber. "I can't let my beauty sleep go to waste. Stop making so much…"

The guy's voice trails off as he comes to see the scene before him. There is a fair number of corpses littering the ground and two people without uniforms with splotches of blood, indicating that they had been the perpetrators of this raid.

Gladion stares back with the same confusion; there is something in this guy's appearance that makes him clearly more dangerous; be it his bulky arms or that he's unnaturally tall. Nothing is natural in this dungeon, it seems.

A few feet away from Gladion, Moon's eyes widen as she takes in the guy's appearance. "Ooh! You sure are a tall guy! I bet your mom fed you a _lot _of milk!"

Gladion lets out an exasperated groan. "Now is _not _the time for small talk!"

"I'm just being nice! After all…" Moon continues looking at the guy, probably analyzing him for battle's sake, and something seems to flash across her eyes that she's gasping so loud it might almost be like she's choking. "They are from the Blackring! That's where these guys are from!"

"The… Blackring?" asks Gladion, not really sure why it's such a big deal. Admittedly, the rush of battle has him a bit hazy, so he can't be as cooperative as he'd like.

The guy, however, seems to take great pleasure in her surprise and crosses his big arms, laughing. "I'm glad you're scared, girlie! We are the most fearsome company in the Soakedge Seas! We will tear each of you apart!"

Her? Scared? That's strange, Gladion thinks, and looks at her with an arched eyebrow of skepticism to see her recovering her natural blank smile, yet this keeps growing until it's reaching a smirk. "Me? Scared? That's _insulting_! I'm just very disappointed the _Blackring _pulled those little totems out of their ass and expected to scare us off! That was a joke."

Okay, he had expected her to be collected and brave but not straight up _shaming _of this company, which, to his view, do not look half as scary as they claimed themselves to be but they are not laughable. But he agrees those mechanic crocodiles had been… very weak.

"What do you mean, you little twat!?" inquires the big buccaneer. "How dare you insult our guards like that? We put those to scare the little kids away, and the stupid citizens of this damn vil–"

"Nah, that was _pathetic_," she insists, much to Gladion's delight. He's not particularly fond of Moon's lighthearted nature but it really is a breath of fresh air to see such big guy fall into horror, witnessing how a girl half his size shames his defense. "Even a kid would have gotten through. Weakest defense ever."

"What do you–"

"Yeah, it _was _pretty bad," interjects Gladion, hands on his hips as he looks up at the big bandit. "It took us approximately five to ten minutes to get rid of all of them. If they hadn't been so small, it would have taken us much less."

Moon is a few feet away from him, knives on her hands as she hums in agreement. "Did you give them teeth to bite? They wouldn't even cut bread. Putting a rock instead of those robots would have saved _you_ money, and _us_ time. We're still gonna take your treasure."

Her words appear to be the final nail on the coffin for him because he clenches his fists and takes out a pair of gauntlets from his pockets. "I was gonna let you kids off the hook but you're getting on my nerves! Stop messing with me, you got some goddamn nerve!"

The big guy jumps fast and high, raising his fist to the heavens before punching the ground right where Moon _should _be, because much to Gladion's surprise she's even faster than that guy and she's leaped back at a breakneck speed.

"Nah, I don't think so!"

And she's going forward again, recovering momentum to throw herself at the guy and land a kick on his stomach with a cartwheel, then on her feet when he meets the end of the chamber. "Just let us take the treasure already! You are making things too difficult!"

Well, Moon apparently knows martial arts too. That's another unwanted perk Gladion will have to deal with, sadly.

As the guy gets up and Moon steps a bit closer to Gladion, he readies his sword to take him down. "You damned brats. I'm going to tear you to pieces with my bare hands!"

The battle that ensues reveals an alarming fact Gladion had not been ready for: he and Moon can't fight together. She bounces around everywhere and moves too much for him to focus on where to hit. She's more of a spider, moving quickly to hit several times in critical sides for quick damage, whereas Gladion hits more decisively and can hurt him much better with a single hit.

"Moon, stop getting in my way!" He says as he manages to stab the fighter on the shoulder, and Moon takes advantage of the sword stuck on the limb to propel herself up and leap behind the bandit, dealing a nasty cut on his shoulder as she then kicks him to his back, almost smashing Gladion to the ground in the process.

"Then move faster!" Moon shoots back, stopping herself from attacking as Gladion digs his sword into the guy's back, causing him to scream, and she's deflating behind him as she sees her opportunity to land the last strike gone. "You just stole the last hit!"

But Gladion can't argue because the bandits are beginning to move again, some trying to retrieve their fallen captain as Moon takes to another bunch of them, probably to palliate the lack of satisfaction at not having the last hit on the big guy. The blond goes to business too, stabbing one buccaneer through the stomach that had come from behind him.

Some pirates are taking notice of Moon and Gladion's overpowering work, and they begin to step back.

"Dudes, we gotta retreat, these guys are crazy!" says one of the buccaneers, seeing the blood show and shaking his head with wide eyes. "The Ma'am and the boss are gonna have our heads but I don't care! We gotta scram!"

Another pirate turns to him, eyes wide. "Bro, they're gonna hang us from a flag pole if we leave! What about our pants, dude?"

"We'll get new ones, bro! But they're gonna take our guts out if we stay, and I got my own standards! That's about enough, dude!"

After that, thumping noises of runaway pirates echo in the chamber along with hurls of fear and chaos before Gladion retreats his blade from one corpse and throws it straight towards the running crowd and nails it on the passage's wall, successfully hitting one of the guys on the hand and gluing him to the wall with a scream of pain.

The swordsman picks himself up and gives himself one second to recover, then walks to the bandit. The pirate's hand leaks out rich blood, so much Gladion is sure he will soon fall unconscious.

Gladion folds his arms. "Did you think you could just run away? Think again. We have some questions to ask and–"

A step behind him. A shadow, more like a presence and the noise of a blade being unsheathed, a cackle before something sharp flies right towards him, past his neck, brushes the skin of his pulse and lands on the enemy's head, Moon's dagger successfully drawing blood out of the bandit's skull, who falls to the ground immediately.

With that thud, Gladion directs his eyes to his teammate, who takes hold of a guy's neck and gives it a violent yank, a gross noise of broken veins and bones issuing from him as he falls on her arms. Her lack of reaction to this prompts him to speak again, very much ready to complain once more.

"You almost _killed _me!" he roars, watching Moon drop the corpse to the ground and regard him nonchalantly. He clasps his hand on his neck. When he withdraws it, he finds no blood. "You could have warned me about that!"

She walks towards him, hands in her pockets and shrugging. Her eyes, however, are faintly blameful as she brushes past him. "Aw, don't be ridiculous. I didn't hit you, did I?" He's absolutely flabbergasted by how she shrugs it off so easily. Moon bends down to take the dagger out of the grunt's head. "Besides, it would've been fine! I would've gotten myself a new buddy and done!"

Her disregard for his life doesn't fully surprise him, considering he had been just as careless about hers, and at least this time she had saved his life. Gladion isn't sure she did it for him or to just satiate her borderline sadistic need for battling, but she did something nice all the same. He'd be damned before he thanked her for her recklessness, though.

Moon saunters to what he now realizes is a chest covered by fabrics of many colors. There are sacks of golden coins around them, mostly half-full, and weapons remain untouched around the loot as she gets on her knees and Gladion cleans his sword with his shirt, approaching her. The chest is not locked, so she's free to open it as she pleases.

Moon rubs her hands together, grinning. "Told you there would be something here! I hope you don't doubt me _or _the Pongii next time."

"You and the Pongii can go hunt together next time. I don't like dirtying my sword like this, you know." Gladion folds his arms. His head cranes to the guy he had left impaled on the passage out of the chamber, who has finally stopped screaming. "And there's still that guy there."

With a little hum of askance, she looks behind them over her shoulder, then dismisses the issue. "That can wait. Let me open this."

So, she does. Moon pries her fingers through the opening of the chest and tugs up. The container groans in complaint and lets out a small cloud of dust, revealing that whatever lies inside must be ancient, and probably of great value.

Moon all but throws half her body into the chest to dig things out. Her hands come out to reveal a long, obnoxiously pink fabric made of silk, all of it decorated with rhinestones and other expensive gems. Then comes a small sack of silver pieces, then another, then a rusty dagger and later a small book with its pages blurred with age.

Clearly disappointed, Moon slams the chest closed and it clicks shut. Gladion picks up the mantle of rhinestones as she gets on her feet and looks down at the chest, smiling down at it like it had been great but giving it a gentle telltale kick with her foot. "Well, that was something! There _was_ a treasure!"

"You don't act that pleased with what you just found," he says, folding the smooth fabric.

"As I said, I don't mind the sizes. Any treasure is a good treasure."

"Moon, we found _no _treasure." A pause. "You almost killed me for a blanket and a few coins. You're _ridiculous__**.**_"

Arms crossed, Moon gives him another of her very satisfied smiles, just as if he had not implied that this had been both dangerous and stupid. "You're saying it as if it hadn't been worth it. We had lots of fun!"

Watching her sharply turn to the exit, Gladion sighs. "We didn't. You almost killed me."

"You're just exaggerating. We had lots of fun." Her voice is happy, satisfied, like that of a child who had just eaten candy or a warrior who had just finished sparring. Her duality is fascinating. "Let's go get some food now."

For once, Gladion agrees and they decide to leave the dungeon at that. All pirates are gone now and everything is empty. There is, nonetheless, a question lingering in his lips. "What did you mean by saying that they belong to the Blackring?"

Before him, Moon seems to hesitate. She bites her lip and the smile fades for a short second, even if her usual giddiness remains in her relaxed posture. It's as if his question goes deeper than the mere superficial need for information, but then the illusion fades and she's shaking her head. "I'll explain tomorrow. Let's get out of here first."

In the prior battle, Moon had saved his life. He doesn't want to admit the importance of such fact, but she _had _done that for him when she really had no reason to. Whether it had been out of a need for violence or saving a teammate, he doesn't know. But just this once, he decides to trust the veil of thought on her face, and bids his time.

As they walk out, Gladion takes his sword out of the guy's hand and the body slumps to the ground unceremoniously. He regards it for approximately three seconds before Moon cuts in. "He's probably unconscious. You got some aim there, shooting for the hand."

Truth is, it had been chance– he could have hit a throat just as he could have hit a shoulder, which wouldn't have been ideal, in hindsight. But as he looks at the pirate and inspects the uniform, Gladion can say this mission was a success, treasure or not.

And looking at Moon's thoughtful but satisfied face, maybe things would be easier. True, they need to polish their tandem fighting skills and build some coordination, but all mistakes in the battle against the big bandit had been a product of their lack of practice. But, seeing how this issue is keeping her so silent, they will have plenty of time to train– these pirates clearly are here to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can pinpoint this chapter as the one where I started figuring Moon's character out because she's exactly as wild and careless as I want her to be and just WAIT because she's gonna get rowdier
> 
> also if this chapter is familiar that's bc this is the one I used for ARC I's preview on Tumblr yeehaw
> 
> also um can we appreciate that very very ugly blanket because it's um mildly relevant in the story even if it's ugly. Could I have made it a simple patch, ugly, yellow and blue blanket? yes. but rhinestones on blankets are probably the only thing uglier than that AND the Blackring, as we'll soon discover, are just that absurd to think such a blanket is flashy because as we saw in Chapter 1 they ARE very confident
> 
> the Blackring has literally been here 2 chapters and I'm ALREADY going on a tangent FUDIOSOKP


	5. The Blackring Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion and Moon plan their next moves, their future plans, and leave Gemstone Village.

Oddly enough, Moon settles on talking about the previous day's findings not during lunch, nor breakfast or dinner, but _brunch_. She argues that the tea shop will be less crowded then, but Gladion is not really familiar with the commodities of another meal between lunch and breakfast, so he actually wonders if he indeed has had an abnormal diet all along.

Moon seems to be enjoying her small sandwich plenty, full of something that has also reached her cheek, a spot of pink on her pale skin. She sets the appetizer on her plate and cleans everywhere but the spot with residue. He wonders how much it will take her to notice.

She clears her throat, then leans a bit closer on the table, fingers laced under her chin. "The pirates we found yesterday in the dungeon were… not exactly menacing, but they were still troublesome." Moon darts her eyes left and right, then drums her fingers, something he's learned happens when she's got something in her mind. "But they were Blackring marauders. I'm sure of it."

She looks almost nervous about this, or thoughtful. "You looked surprised yesterday. Not scared like that man implied, but still pretty taken aback. And I did notice that these guys are a bit more feisty than the rest I have seen around. Not like they are much trouble, but they were still pretty violent."

"Well, the Blackring has been around the Dominion for _ages_. I think they also have bases within the Aedus Empire beyond the Soakedge Strait." Moon takes hold of her cup of water and raises it to her lips. "I have been following them closely for a while now, but I wasn't really sure if they belonged to _the _Blackring. They are probably the biggest pirate company in the region, and that's a very big thing."

Moon drinks and her body contorts. She's shifting very awkwardly in her chair, as though uncomfortable with this information. Most emotional delivery she provides comes from her body language, that much he knows by now, and her lack of constant input and how her eyes are always distracted tell him she's thinking deeply about this, maybe even far beyond what he can understand.

Thinking back, Gladion has heard about the Blackring marauders very off-handedly. They once were a small group of bandits that pillaged villages for a living and had gained territories as their group grew in size, notoriety, and danger. They've been involved in several instances of drug trafficking in the areas of Altaria Bay and there are spies of that group all over Everspring Woods, a place known for its peaceful silence, but also for its deadly and silent murders.

A truly blissful group of folks, that's what they sound like. "So, Blackring marauders, you say?"

"Yep. There are lots of legends about them, none of them good," Moon twists her lips in a childish pout. "They say they've got domesticated sharks in their ships. They apparently feed them mermaids and fish to keep them happy."

"That… sounds too surreal to be true."

"That's not my point. I'm not sure how they are gathering so much power lately, but they are. They used to be in very few villages committing minor crimes and stuff, but they've gotten… _vicious_, as you put it," she explains. The drumming becomes more intense. "They're getting more subordinates and more power. My only guess is that somebody must be behind all of this."

"Somebody? As in, one person? That's a bit of a stretch."

"Of course I don't mean one single person, but they must be getting money from _somewhere_. The weapons I saw yesterday in that dungeon aren't their usual trafficking goods."

Moon speaks very clearly and without a hitch. She must have been thinking about this all night long to be so resolute, but it's a bit of a shock for him to begin hearing of big evils this early into his trip– but leave it to Moon to talk of villains and crime in the cozy atmosphere of this perfectly fine tea shop.

"So you think there must be an organization behind them? They could be just pillaging villages and done." His words make sense. She purses her lips, then lays her chin on the heel of her hand. "The more people they get, the more _money _they get. It's only natural it happens this way."

A teapot in the background boils, somebody laughs and Moon looks oddly conflicted to speak. "Listen, I just– know, okay? I have been chasing after them for some time, and it doesn't matter if they are only pirates or something more. They are still causing tons of trouble and we gotta do something about it."

Gladion arches an eyebrow. "What do you mean '_do something about it'_? You do realize these people are _big_, right? Like, very big. You said so yourself."

"Well, yeah." Moon leans back against her chair, arms behind her back. He can tell she's fidgeting with her hair just by how her arms move a little as she speaks. "But they're still humans like us, so we gotta act against them in some way! Small or big, these criminals can't keep on pestering villages like this anymore."

His expression turns even more suspecting. "What do you suggest, then?"

All she does is flash him a cheeky grin that screams absolute chaos, sunlight, and mischief at a horrific scale.

"You look like you're planning to go against a whole pirate company."

"And you're talking as if you _aren't _planning to! If you aren't going for a whole big bad organization, what are you doing?"

"Saving my life!" He retorts, a fist on the table while she keeps smiling, whatever pensiveness she held earlier completely gone. "Are you insane? If they are as big as you think they are, what's your plan? We were able to fend off the bunch we saw yesterday, but they're a whole company!"

"So?"

"What do you mean '_so_'?"

His words come out frustrated and very much done with her. Her means of reasoning have been extremely unconvincing albeit effective thus far, but this is taking it too far. He feels oddly tense at the prospect of such a challenge, probably because it's one too monumental for him to even imagine. The thought of something bigger than the gang they had fought the day before seems atrocious. Incomprehensible. Big.

When he left his home, he had expected one or two runs into trouble, because he had set out to keep his head low and mind his own business and things _never _went according to plan; but then came _Moon _and destroyed his perfectly assembled plans just with the touch of her hand. Seeing his clear opposition to this plan doesn't faze her, much to his chagrin.

"The Blackring is a very big group of criminals, sure, but we can still take them down! They can't be that strong if we took care of them so easily yesterday. It'll be a piece of cake!"

Her intent to go after them is almost too overbearing for him not to wonder why it exists in the first place. Clouds meet in his eyes, stormy in vexation as he frowns at her. "Do you even care about your own life at this point? We're talking about a whole company, Moon."

"Why does that even matter? If we're not aiming for the top, what's the point of trying?" Her 'go big or go home' philosophy sounds tragically fitting for her, so much so he isn't surprised by her daredevil plans anymore. "The Blackring has lots of influence in the Dominion. They're worth going against– so we're gonna take them down even if they don't want to, big evil behind them or not."

"What do you mean by influence?"

"They are powerful and big, and they must have lots of information about the region." Her expression has suddenly turned thoughtful again. The drumming comes back, though slower this time. He's not sure of what she means by _information_. "I've got some issues to take care of, too."

Gladion's body turns rigid. If the Blackring is actually _that _influential – whatever she means by that – then he can use this mission to his ultimate advantage. And he's also just learned that Moon has a mission of her own, surprisingly, but he knows better than to ask what that could be.

This setup goes against the many points of 'keeping his head low' of his journey, but if he's going to do things wrong, he shall at least do them wrong _correctly_. "We could at least ask for help to not get kicked where it hurts."

"I have a fatal allergy to authorities. I'm not gonna share my bounty any further." Gladion sighs at her stubbornness, drinking some of his own water to wash that feeling down.

Gladion folds his arms. "Do you have any pills for that allergy, then? Because we won't manage that well without someone to guide us."

"Today is your lucky day! I'm the best guide you'll ever find in this Realm and the next!"

Of _course _she is– she's a traveler. Her abilities as a guide might be a bit skewed, however, as he knows she hasn't been everywhere in the region. Her abundant confidence is hard to say no to, though.

"The Blackring Outpost is located at the coast of the Soakedge Strait, a few kilometers away to the north from Altaria Bay. We would have to go through the Everspring Woods, but I got no clue how guarded that place will be. So that's one problem. There are a _lot _of pirates in that place." Gladion knows this. He nods in agreement. "We should go there during the night, maybe, or at least sunrise."

"I guess that you don't want us to be seen?" he theorizes, and is pleasantly surprised to see her nod her head. "We still need to plan a route, though. We're not going to run a mad dash into the darkness again, I can see you coming."

Instead of looking apologetic for that blame, she grins at him. "That'd be awesome."

Pushing his fingers between his fringe, he groans into his glass. He probably just gave her another mad idea for her collection of hobbies and he knows she's reckless enough to try to pull it off.

Though he guesses that as long as she doesn't involve him, that would be fine.

* * *

They formally agree to meet in his room at the hostal before leaving. As much as he dreads the idea of her treading into the personal territory of his room, it will only be once and technically, this no longer is his room, no matter how much the owner of the place had told him it would be great if he stayed for more time.

Moon had also packed her things at the tea shop. The owner of the place had encouraged Moon to stay around for a while more, but as both Gladion and her know, she's nobody to let herself be held down for too long, so she ends up leaving. She's gotten two apples and a few coins for their trip, though, as a token of gratitude for their service in the dungeon.

"She said that we could drop by the tea shop to chat anytime," says Moon as they go upstairs, him just listening to her tell her side. "What a nice lady. And we got all this for free, so that's one thing out of the way."

The corridor of the hostal is dimly lit only by a few oil lamps put precariously around shelves with flowers and little napkins. There is a stack of cards with several sayings of the Dominion, as well as 'thank you' cards. Moon is about to grab one to read before Gladion is pulling the key into his door and opening the room. He purposefully leaves it open to invite Moon in, which he doesn't want to do, but he prefers being polite now.

His room qualifies as such by a very small margin. It's only a pale custard orange bed with a window and a small desk by the door. The place overlooks the lake of Gemstone Village, which is by now only white flitters of moonlight and the opportunistic glow of the lamp posts outside. Temperatures have dropped significantly tonight, so nobody is outside.

Moon is slightly fearful for a storm as she looks out the window. "I hope it doesn't rain, or else we're screwed."

"There's not a single cloud in the sky. Why would it rain?"

"It's still cold. Wouldn't want it to rain or to get windy when we're out exploring."

He guesses she makes a fairly good point and continues packing. She's thankfully silent now as he focuses on his task. His luggage only consists of a bag, a map, a book and a change of clothes. His current ones are those he used back in Ludwig Town and have small rips on the sleeves and thighs of his pants after many trips to the forest and through thorny bushes. Hopefully Altaria Bay will have a seam shop to mend his clothing.

He's constantly pulling his fringe out of his eyes. It's getting annoying. Often he would put a clip on it and call it a day but he had forgotten his clips at home and Moon will not have one, considering she's got a very gregarious lifestyle, for what he can tell. Living with uneven bangs like these has always been a drag. The uneven chopped layers get in his eyes all the time and are a mess to deal with in the morning, but it has only gotten worse ever since he experienced the wind of the desert and the humidity of the night in Gemstone Village.

Maybe if he chops it off the Blackring won't recognize him and he can ditch Moon in favor of his more humble quest. He keeps on packing his things.

And pulls his fringe out of his eyes. Again. And just as it stays for one second over his side behind his ear, the sheer amount of hair pulls it out from behind his ear.

"Gladion, what's up with your hair?"

That's a very good question he's very frustrated with. "It's just gotten long. And I always forget to trim it."

Her eyes are on him, they burn on the back of his neck and he pretends not to notice it. Gladion curses his fidgety behavior and how sensitive he is to having anything on his face, be it his hair, maybe a bug, or just a leaf. Things were peaceful but now she's observing him and he doesn't quite enjoy the attention.

"If you want," her voice comes out a bit hesitant, letting a pause in between, "I can cut your hair."

His actions halt altogether, and he blinks in surprise just as he turns around to face her. Moon is nonchalantly leaning against the window frame, eyes focused on him just as his are on her. Bathed by the white, bluish moonlight, Moon is at her most peaceful, not talking, just observing, and he's reminded that just as she's a chatterbox, she might be just as observant as him.

She's a feat equal in many senses. It's a very sobering thought.

"I– It's fine," he says sharply, turning around afterward and resuming his packing, folding a jacket. "I will survive with longer hair for a bit. I don't like some bangs touching my eyes, that's all." Because it's not the hairdo that bothers him, but just a few bangs in particular. He can fix it himself when he's got time.

"Are you sure? I can fix it in, like, one minute or two." Silence fills the next few seconds before she speaks again. "I can tell it's not a very practical hairdo to have. I can just trim the parts that are bothering you."

The word _impractical _brings a memory to mind. Him at Faba's house many, many years ago, when Gladion had been a bit young to understand what a man like Fabsa could inflict in a child. Judging by Faba's words, he had probably been in his house only for a pair of years, maybe three. His memories of that time are hazy, yet he retains that day's happenings vividly.

He had come to his godfather after a day of playing in the park, and he had hit his knee pretty hard, thus scraped it. Gladion had explained to a pretty angry Faba that he had not been able to see through his growing fringe, and had asked if he could cut it off.

Faba's words are still in his mind: "_That hairdo was procured by one of your family members, and no matter the circumstances of your abandonment, it is a family trait you have to wear with pride. Cutting your hair would be like cutting off your family roots. That would be… disgraceful._"

Big words for a kid that was probably eight at the time, maybe _seven_. The word _abandonment _never really rung a bell within him until he had been older, weirdly enough. As a child, the fact that he no longer had a true family had been just a fact. Something to live with. A trait of his personality. Something Faba was fascinated with, for some reason.

But that reality had changed over time, and he had overcome that façade of ignorance, uncovered a hidden sensibility that he couldn't speak to any stranger about: the nights spent in wonder of why he was left on a bridge, what could have happened. Wonder, curiosity, _torment_.

She wouldn't understand. Moon wouldn't cut right where it's needed, and would probably go too far, just like she always seems to do.

He himself used to trim his hair just fine. Faba never really noticed the small trims– but somebody else doing it is a completely different story. Along the last months of maturity prior to his departure, those small trims had also been hard to procure, as though Faba's words have struck a little too deep when he's become a little too aware.

"It's fine. I will work on it when I have more time, we have to go now." The topic is forgotten for now, and her offer to cut his bangs fades in the air as she nods. "I'm done packing. We should get going before it gets any colder."

Gladion only dedicates the small room a last glance before closing it when Moon is out of it. He has to give the small golden key to the waiter and owner of the building, so they descend the stairs in comfortable silence.

As he gives the key to the waiter, an old man with a balding head and copper glasses perched on his piggish nose, he stops him from leaving. "You sure are leaving late in the night, young man! Going on a getaway with this cute woman? You have great company."

Oh, the sheer smugness he feels issue from her is overpowering, so he turns to her and sees Moon smirking with a playful grin. "I wouldn't call it great as much as I'd call it a handful." Her grin immediately dilutes in playful anger and he smirks at himself for that, just a small private victory. "We will be leaving now. I think I left the money here this morning."

"That you did! Everyone here is great but they are even greater when they pay in time! But please, be careful if you are going to venture into Everspring Woods. I heard many of those rude pirate thugs are on the loose, I wouldn't want you two to be harmed."

Gladion is about to respond that everything will be fine before the chatterbox right beside him speaks out on his behalf. "No worries! They won't even see us coming, we got weapons with us. Besides, it's not like the Blackring is _that_ bad, they will wish they had stayed at home!"

Said by her, her words sound almost childish and unbelievably positive, all but what someone would say in false hopes of over-reassuring the other. But knowing her, she most likely means it and will actually come true, if the odds are in their favor, because this woman might as well be immortal and Gladion wouldn't be surprised.

"Very well, I trust you two to come back safe and sound– and look after each other! Be careful with the wolves, I've been told they are trained to eat warriors in their sleep!"

After a little back and forth between Gladion and the regent of the hostal's tavern about the surrealism of wolves being somehow trained for such a feat, they exit the hostal with no more questions asked.

The village is dark and empty at this hour. Crickets fill the silence along with the timely breeze that runs between houses. There's a path up the higher hill surrounded by cherry blossoms and willows, all rocked by the small winds of Gemstone Village. In his slightly sluggish state, he doesn't stop to contemplate the starry sky or the mesmerizing starlit waters of the lake; they need to get on the move.

Just as Gladion and Moon are walking to the slope out of town, he feels something brush right behind him, and he thinks Moon might have felt it too because she turns around as well, and they make eye contact in the dark of the night. "Did you…?"

Moon shakes her head and blinks as she appears to realize something he doesn't know. It soon reaches him: a certain smell, entering his nostrils sneakily. It smells like… like…

"It smells like Taeyong's curry rice."

Exactly. _Curry_. A little spicy, organic and a pinch of sweetness.

"Taeyong?"

"She's the owner of the tea shop. She told me she makes the dish every Friday, but… it's _not _Friday." He gives her a moment to speak again. "I'm sure someone just ran behind us. Maybe they had food with curry with them."

Gladion agrees with her and wants to believe that story, but with no need to extend this odd experience any longer – and with no need to tell her that he feels weirdly warm now – they leave Gemstone Village.

"I gotta tell you about the time I fell into a pond full of piranhas."

The strange placement of events prompts him to roll his eyes, although a bit curious. "And you… are still alive?"

"That's the fun part of the story!"

He should have made the topic on the weird curry mystery longer, because now Moon is filling the space and as much as he is thankful for the chatter to keep him alert, he doesn't appreciate how she uses her knives to illustrate the story.

* * *

Moon and Gladion arrive at the Everspring Woods in record time. They agree to be silent the whole way, because while Moon had argued that nighttime for an ambush would be ideal so they wouldn't be visible, neither of them had anticipated that while they indeed are not visible now, nor is the entire forest before them.

She comments on this very casually. "Cool. We can barely see a thing." It's only a whisper as she walks through the night, trees outlined by the celestial moonlight of the night. "At least nobody can see us."

"Yeah, and we can't see a thing either," Gladion mumbles under his breath, his sword unsheathed and at alert. "This backfired spectacularly."

"But we're hidden!" she whispers, but if it weren't for the veil of silence around them, she would very likely be talking loudly. "Let's make the best outta it. I'm sure no marauders will be out tonight. It's too cold to be outside, and their uniforms aren't very cold-friendly, if you know what I mean."

He knows what she means and he's got a very easy deflection to that argument (that being the existence of coats and jackets) but he doesn't bother. Instead, he lets her walk for exactly three and a half minutes, both in silence and looking out for any bandits walking around in the dead of the night like them before Moon suddenly stops and turns around.

"Let's set camp here." Moon digs the heel of her shoe on the soil as if to say _exactly here_. "This clearly isn't gonna work, and we might have underestimated how much we're gonna have to walk."

His sword _drops_. It hits something that might be stone. "You have to be kidding me. Why did we walk here, then? Just for a stroll in the forest?"

"Don't be ridiculous! We have walked at least halfway to Altaria Bay, but we can't see jackshit in all this darkness." She turns from him. Her frame is outlined by the fragile light that comes between trees. He can make out each of her disheveled strands of hair and the soft skin of her milky shoulder. "If we set camp here, we'll make it to Altaria Bay at sunrise. We just won't see anything for now and it'd suck to be ambushed and fight in the absolute dark."

Gladion finds some sense in her argument as much as he hates to admit it– it's always the same with her: she's got a point, but she also _doesn't_, because if they wait it out until there is light, that will mean any strategical advance they would have had is completely wasted now. And he hates turns like these, changes without a warning, and Moon is all unforeseen occurrences and improvisation, initiative and too many smiles.

She's insufferable.

"Fine, you win this time." He hears her cheer to herself very quietly, and she walks past him to stand under one of the trees that are scattered all around the woods, growing straight in dark tones of purplish-brown. The trees' bark has been stripped of their outer layers by the harsh passing of time. "We should have waited as I said."

Gladion is spooked out of his mind when Moon leaps on the tree – similar to what she had done with the crystal back at the dungeon, much to his secret curiosity – and begins to climb up, feet scraping on the bark's surface. That rudimentary way of climbing might be why her shoes barely have soles under them anymore.

Moon reaches a branch and swings her body on it. Both her legs hang from each side of the thick branch and she looks down at him. He can tell there is a smirk on her face, even if he can't see it very well; Gladion can hear it. "It doesn't matter if we wait or not. We're now closer to Altaria Bay and we're in a good position. You're just pissed because I'm a genius."

Gladion looks at her for a few more seconds. By how her shape is shadowed by the _chiaroscuro _of the night, he knows she can probably see him very clearly. The feeling of being observed once more doesn't sit well with him, so he withdraws from the staring contest and doesn't give her an answer. He's learned that most of the time it's better to let the argument drop when he's this tired, lest he will get angry for no reason.

After all, he knows she's not _that _bad, he's just a bit too not used to her brightness.

And she seems oddly fine with that, somehow. Even now when she's silent and he's sitting down under her on the dark grass, he can feel her breathing, existing, being content. It's… mysterious. It's weird.

Gladion doesn't like weird.

Moon's eyes are on him again. She's kicking her feet slowly, rocking them to no rhythm in particular. "Won't you get cold down there?"

"I'm fine," he says; a bit too brusquely, maybe. "Why are you so high up there?"

"Old habits die hard." Fair, he thinks. "And I'm more comfortable here than on the ground. Wouldn't wanna be eaten by those wolves that guy mentioned earlier, y'know."

She really didn't need to bring that up. Damn it, she's so annoying. "At least I won't get cold. I bet it's colder up there than here."

"You're just pissed because you can't climb," she snickers, leaning forward to look at him from above. "Do you even have a blanket?"

"I, in fact, do."

He suddenly takes out a blanket from the depths of his bag. The rhinestones embedded to it make the takeout not as smooth and fast as he would have liked, but the effect of surprise is still the same. The emeralds and gems shine under the moonlight and he knows the blanket is _horrible_, pink and all sorts of gems he finds too extravagant, but it would serve its purpose.

In her silence he finds surprise, but then she lets out a long flat hum with a telling smirk on top. "Would you like me to go down there and keep you company?"

"No, thanks."

Anyone would have been offended but her, go figure. In fact, Moon goes back to sitting and overlooking the landscape under her, all bathed in ethereal lights split by endless trees and crowned by the chirping of crickets and occasional birds flying to their homes. It would be a weird sound to fall asleep to, so much nature around here it's as if he's one with the trees, the grass, and the soil under his body.

It isn't unpleasant. It's definitely new. And he's adapting to it. He's just left Ludwig Town. If he relaxes enough, he can almost hear the wheels of the wagon under him and the rattle of the vehicle as it goes forward.

Maybe that's where this journey would take him too. Forward. Into infinity, beyond all he knows. Something new for him to explore. Just forward like the fearless wheels of a wagon with the spice of Moon's presence on top.

So that's all he would have to do: _move forward_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moon: I fell into a pit of piranhas and I survived  
Gladion: I'm so done with you already
> 
> this story takes itself seriously very unfrequently and I hope everyone notices that
> 
> The introductory/tutorial/boring part of the story is DONE NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE FUN FUN PLANNING AND *the spicy action*. I think it's all moving and doing stuff from now on THIS IS WHERE WE START TRAVELLING BOYS /polishes world-building staff, btw did I mention I love the Skulls as pirates. just saying
> 
> ALSO NEXT CHAPTER WILL BRING IN A NEW GUEST AND I THINK Y'ALL KNOW WHO IT'S GONNA BE it's gonna be a spicy very pretty chapter so strAP IN BOIS


	6. The Man With The Blank Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a fork in the road, Gladion and Moon take a sudden detour and meet a new friend.

"So this is where your _great planning and guiding skills _took us."

"You talk like we got lost."

"We would be better off lost than where we are now."

Moon folds her arms like he's offended her and goes back to her cover behind the thin tree of the woods. Gladion stands behind another, both trees at a decent distance from each other. Pirates have a few times looked their way, but nobody has noticed either of them yet, and they remain hidden for now as they decide what to do next.

They had woken up to the rising sun, which had covered everything in pale greens, whites, and blues. The gentle hush of flora waking up and birds chirping had been the only thing around them to fill in the pauses in their conversations, overlapping her voice more than his, as he talked very little. It hadn't taken long for them to notice the trees getting sparser and the bandits getting more abundant.

So here they are now.

Hiding behind trees. Gauging what to do now.

Clearly they are at a disadvantage, at least from a strategic perspective. They could very well go all in and annihilate every single one of the bandits, but drawing more attention to themselves after what happened in the dungeon might not be wise. In hindsight, maybe that's why there are so many bandits in this specific area; they might be looking for them.

Gladion curses and covers himself behind the tree again. "This is bad. Very bad. Too bad. This is _horrible_."

"Don't exaggerate, this is fine. It's just one stone in the path," Moon mumbles back, peeping from behind the tree. "Things could be much worse. We could have been ambushed last night when we left, or while we slept! Or maybe some hungry wolf could have taken a hand or two to snack on."

Moon puts up a face and claws her fingers. "Thanks. You're making it _so _much better already."

Careless as she is, Moon leaps from her tree to his, rolling across the grass and pushing him out of his hiding spot before he recovers, hisses and begrudgingly pushes his side against hers. She's peering from the spot, crouching, so Gladion decides to stand up and look from the same spot, but from above her. His knee brushes her shoulder and his first instinct is to try and push her off the spot and have her caught.

"There are a few people around here. If we chance it, we might make it through. It's a matter of being brave... and having a bit of luck!" Moon turns her eyes from the landscape to him. "They won't see us coming, so we gotta be fast!"

Gladion sees her move like it's in slow motion. She's taking out her long daggers and twirling them between her fingers, about to take a step forward with a growing smirk before he yanks her backward by the shirt (much softer than he would have anticipated, more irritated than angry) and hides them both again, being met with a pout from his teammate.

"What are you doing?!" he hisses, wrinkles in his expression as he looks down at her with his hands on his hips. "You want to get us killed, don't you? There must be around fifty bandits here! Are you out of your mind? There's no way we are going out there!"

"Then what are we gonna do?" she asks, recovering her grounding as she looks at him with a vivid concoction of fire and sparks in her eyes. Her unbidden confidence remains untouched. "We need to get to Altaria Bay somehow, and cowering won't do anything for our situation! Moving is the only thing we can do now."

The growl he lets out is unsightly at best. Her demeanor is starting to get to him and he doesn't have time to explain to her why going against dozens of pirates is a good idea, so he opts for what he considers he does best: arguing.

"See? That's your problem! You think we can only move and move but we need to _stop _for a second and think of what to do next!" Moon is about to counter that but he interrupts her like lightning. "We can't go out without a plan and we're at a clear disadvantage now. You might not appreciate your life but _I_ treasure mine, and I don't care what you say, but we're _not _going out there without a plan– in fact, we shouldn't go out there at _all_. You can go and get yourself imprisoned but I won't be doing that. And that's final."

Moon, much to his surprise, doesn't say a thing. He takes in a deep breath and sighs, backing himself against the tree as his scowl lingers, something he's greatly aware is embedded to his face around ninety percent of the time. Yet, she doesn't care about it at all– until now, it seems, as her eyes are wide and she's not moving.

Her eyes dart to the field before them, then back to him, bottom lip pinched between her teeth. She fidgets with the ends of her shirt, balances her weight from leg to leg, and then looks up. "We can try to jump from tree to tree."

"Right, I guess you want to break your neck instead of what I think would be a gruesome assassination. But it will still end with death, so I will pass."

Moon rolls her eyes. "You are the soul and happiness of the party." Charcoal drifts from bright green to the forest behind their hiding spot, avoiding how he's combing his fingers through his hair in impatience, waiting for her to decide. "If we don't go now–"

"We can try again later," Gladion insists, looking behind him at the ambling bandits. "Right now they are clearly looking out for us after the chaos we caused in the cave the other day. If we give it some time, there will be fewer guards." Moon folds her arms. "We can go somewhere else in the meantime. Moving forward doesn't necessarily mean moving in one sole direction."

His peer gives this some thought, uncharacteristically silent and thoughtful. Gladion is almost _entranced _by her silence. She's a bit too still. When stripped of her smiles, sparkly eyes and overwhelming confidence, all that is left is an oddly calm Moon with no words, just a bright presence and a faint trace of discontent after a minute of thought. Moon is just a walking oddity, born from the sun and the embodiment of all his nightmares.

Eventually, Moon lets out a long sigh. "Fine. No attacking." It lacks any bite or pang of bitterness, much to his astonishment. Her voice is off-putting in the way she's accepting of his offer, how she's putting her plans aside in favor of his. He had been very articulate about his conditions but he hadn't really expected her to accept them.

In fact, part of him would have expected her to run away and be free with the wind before sticking to what is safe. Perhaps, she actually trusts him. "You said you wanna go somewhere else, right?"

Gladion nods. "It would be good if we kept moving, just for exploration's sake. Altaria Bay is clearly off-limits for now."

"Then we could head to the Shongshu Watchpoint. It's a small place for Kandrus soldiers to rest and we would get some shelter, but we'll have to walk all day for that. We would get there by noon tomorrow." That's fine with Gladion. Walking is never a problem, much less now that they are avoiding a pirate ambush. Moon must have seen an approval in his silence, so she nods. "It lies to the northeast of Gemstone Village. We can head to the Bleakdross Passage from there."

That name is unfamiliar to him. He doesn't remember ever seeing a Bleakdross _anything _on his maps. "Bleakdross?"

"It's a zone at the east of Reikyuu and the Jaguar Farmlands– you know, where all that wheat comes from. The Bleakdross Passage is the standing fields between the Kandrus Dominion and the Bleakdross Forest, where the Orchard of Souls lies. It's a place that was overtaken by dark chi around a decade or two ago."

Great. A haunted land to train. _Perfect_. Magnificent.

In his sheer lack of enthusiasm, he still has a question to ask. "How can a land get overtaken by dark chi?"

Moon shakes her head as she begins to retrace her steps, returning the way they came. "I'm not sure. I heard there was some guy who tried to open a portal to the Dark Realm and that happened. It's filled with fiends now, so it will make the perfect place for training!"

Her happy-go-lucky behavior is back and he's not sure if he should be happy about that, but at least they are walking away from a possible disaster and that's progress.

* * *

Gladion and her agree to set camp somewhere close to Gemstone Village. She had said that they could go back to the village for a rest before they realized that they were running low on coins (him having spent his part on provisions, her never having much to begin with, other than what Taeyong gave her) so they set camp outside, close enough to be safe in the wilderness yet far enough to not wake anybody's attention.

Things are unnaturally tame between them this time. He's still thinking about what Moon had been telling him about the Bleakdross Incursion over the walk here, between stops to eat and while skipping over rivers and almost falling into the waters twice. Moon makes for a good entertainer, he will give him that, as cheeky and unbearable as her tone is most of the time.

Bleakdross had been, as she put it very eloquently, 'a bunch of small poor towns with some graveyards in-between', but the area was infected with Dark Chi that dug itself root deep into the soil. It had made harvests wither, people panic and the sun never shone again.

"There might be a bit of population now," she says as she skips on the stone of a small stream, twirling and miraculously not slipping. The sun is setting now, bathing both Gladion, Moon and the river in hues of orange and dim starlight. "But it's all refugees and investigation troops. Last time I was there, a year or so ago, it was full of fiends and monsters. I think a sergeant told me there was a chimera close to some ancient tower. We could try to take that down."

Gladion jumps from stone to another in a path parallel to hers, sticking close to hear her correctly. "You go from pirates to chimeras alarmingly quick."

"As I said: why aim for something small when I can go big? Makes no sense, Gladbag."

The name attached at the end makes him stop abruptly. The double-take almost makes him trip with his feet. "Gladbag?"

Turning to face him, hands on her back, Moon grins, very likely at the ungodly face of confusion he must be making, along with the constant frown crowning his eyes. "Mhm! I thought I would spice it up a little. Your face right now is _priceless_."

"I'm… not used to nicknames. And your choice is peculiar, to say the least."

"Don't worry! I'll change it over time. I just use them when I remember." A finger on her lips, Moon smiles to herself and lets out a small mirthful chuckle. "I could call you something cuter, but you don't seem to be fond of being called after pretty things. I'm sure that if I called you, I don't know, Gladiboy, you would implode and make a mess of my shirt."

"_Gladiboy_? Your definition of cute defies all logic in the universe." And so does she. But that's not his point. The streaming waters and upcoming crickets and cicadas fill the late summer air all around them. "My name can't be paired up with anything cute. I would like to see you try."

Moon, at this, parts her lips in genuine wonder. The sun bathes her in a dewy saturated orange light, eyes twinkling stronger than usual, her legs supporting her weight on the round stone under her before she shakes once, then laughs openly. It's only for a short time, but he's sure it's the only time he's seen her laugh in such an open, genuine and happy manner.

The stark difference between that boundless joy and the image of a darker, more strained happiness she offers him leaves him speechless for the next seconds she speaks. When her smile returns to normal, it's natural and true. "You don't know me well if you think you can challenge me so lightly! You must be really dumb to think you can win a battle that easily, Gladbag."

The illusion is broken when she says his name like that. It retains the same joy and sunshine she just radiates so naturally– but it's less abrasive now. "Considering all the time we got ahead, you have many hours to prove me wrong, I guess."

Moon nods and turns around again, resuming the crossing of the stream. "I will take you up on that offer." With a jump, she lands on a bigger stone. Her leaps are much more open and loose than his. "Anyway, where was I?"

"The chimeras."

Interactions seem easier now, for whatever reason he can't really explain. It might be that her sudden cooperation to follow _his _orders and not her own makes it look like they are finally more of a team now, as much as he's still getting used to her odd personality and he's still a bit tense around her. Things are slowly getting milder, calmer, and part of him isn't holding back from adapting to the change as much as he would like.

She stops on her stone, then chirps up. "Oh, right!" Gladion is now a few stones behind her. She's choosing which one to leap on. "Bleakdross is mostly inhabited by soldiers from Kandrus. I think I already said that, didn't I?" A pause. She chooses the stone to her left. "It's all very gloomy and dark, though. I'd say the monsters and fiends are almost part of the population now."

With another leap, she's on the other side of the stream, with Gladion a good three ones behind. Some of the water is getting to his ankles, but he barely notices it. It is only when he makes it to her side – after a lot of bickering and provoking on her part to go faster – that he realizes his shoes are wet.

"You probably stepped on a wet stone without realizing. Lack of practice," Moon comments off-handedly without any bite, but it still hurts his pride nonetheless, teeth grinding in distaste. She turns around. "Let's go on! We have some more until we reach our camping point."

She fills in space with more facts about the places they would visit in order to train, and he listens in silence.

As they go through the Everspring Woods, their surroundings change. While the forest surrounds most of Gemstone Village, it's vastly different from one place to another. From Altaria Bay to Gemstone Village it had been full of birds, small rivers, and they had seen one or two Pongii settlements, their small mushroom homes poking through the wilderness. But as they begin to settle down for the night, he can see that what lies ahead will get drier and drier, albeit still green for the standards of Everspring Woods.

He wonders what the Shongshu Watchpoint will look like. Will it be full of forests like the village in the distance? Would it be dry like Reikyuu is rumored to be? he's tempted to ask Moon, but he doesn't want to sound like a child and he wouldn't bear her teasing. He isn't energized enough to deal with her shenanigans anymore.

"This sounds like a good enough place," Moon points out suddenly, interrupting their walk. She's got this very weird habit of just stopping randomly like some guru with a staff, leading the way. "Yep. This looks good. It's not a bed, but it could be worse."

There aren't many things Gladion could consider _worse_, but he hasn't traveled enough to have that perspective so he doesn't say anything in return. It's their first time staying outside to sleep and he finds the situation very foreign. It had been a nap last time, and while the concepts are the same in theory, the time span and circumstances are very different.

Moon seems fine with this arrangement. Gladion is reluctant to admit he isn't. "We really don't have any money for something more comfortable, right?"

His voice is steely, just as usual, albeit a bit gravelly with tiredness. "I don't have enough on myself for a night. I spent most of it in what I had to eat today." What they had found in the cave had lasted very little, and most change he had now would be put to better use in foods and any necessary gear repair. These are perks of traveling, he guesses. "I usually refill my wallet with missions. I have some on me, but Gemstone Village is… expensive."

He's got no option but to agree. This arrangement is not _that _bad. It's definitely cheaper than the hostel in the village and they are saving whatever money they've got for food, so his little practical side is satisfied with this. His psychological one, however, isn't.

Moon seems to be set on getting on the top of the tree again, surveying the branches closely. The darkness of the night tints her differently this time, her body covered in the dusk as the sun is still setting in the distance. He takes one second to watch her settle on the treetop and then withdraws his eyes from her.

While it's a bit lighter than last time he had slept outside, everything is more silent and eerier, consequently. Moon speaks from above him. "Are you gonna use that blanket again?"

"It's… comfortable," he responds curtly. "Though it's not too cold today. I might not use it."

They settle into silence, and he assumes Moon must be falling asleep. He had fallen into this odd pattern of expecting her to fill in the gaps between them with her incessant chatter, and her always responding as expected. Gladion had gotten used to it very quickly, more than he would have liked to. And as the noises of the forest settle over them – leaves rustling, owls cooing and breezes brushing past – he hears the silence all the same. Something that should not be heard. It's safe to assume he won't be falling asleep anytime soon.

So, he turns his eyes to the stars, missing the shadow of Moon's silhouette as she shifts and looks at the stars too.

"Hey." Her voice comes softly from above him, so soft it might as well not be hers. "I'm sorry if I upset you earlier. I didn't mean to get both of us in trouble."

Her apology startles him. He looks up from his spot, and she's not looking at him, agreeably so, because his face must be an utter poem at the moment. It hadn't occurred to him that Moon would actually apologize for something as inane as a disagreement between them, but as he detects the trails of a sigh in her words, he might have been wrong.

"It's… fine," he says. "No harm done."

And the conversation ends at that; not abruptly, but not softly either. They fall into comfortable and doable silence, something he can bear, arms crossed and eyebrows pinched in thought. Her voice floats around him and her words drag in his brain for more than they should.

He's not sure how much time passes before he realizes it has been too _long_, and that he can still hear everything too vividly. Gladion presses himself harder against the bark in search of comfort but finds the surface to be too hard, the blanket to be comforting but too light. Whenever he would have this issue, all it would take him would be to count sheep – or Mareep, if one believes in ancient folklore – and snuggle into his bed. Oh, how much he could use a bed right now, and not this hard bark that is so uncomfortable–

"You can't sleep, can you?"

Her voice rings soft and a smidge tired, not fully awake yet. The small grunt of questioning he lets out prompts her to chuckle under her breath, barely audible. "The tree won't stop moving. You'll end up throwing the tree to the ground at this rate."

She's just as observant as he had predicted, but what can he say? Admit that he can't sleep and also say that his lack of experience sleeping outside is finally taking its toll on him? How can admit to being unable to adapt when Faba had once warned him of this fact? How is he supposed to– _to–_

"It's okay, y'know. Sleeping outside can be a bit weird if you're not used to it." Moon swings her legs on either side of the branch. Despite the clear drowsiness in her words, she continues speaking. "Do you have trouble sleeping?"

Rather than asking out of curiosity, it sounds like she's asking for the sake of distracting him or having a genuine knowledge. "Uh… sometimes. Nothing serious."

Succinct. To the point. Moon nods above him. "I see." The hush of the wind breezes through the small pause. "Let's play twenty-one questions, then."

"Twenty-one… questions?" That's a game he had heard kids in his vicinity talk about and play, but he never sat down to learn the dynamics. Judging by the name, it sounds easy enough.

"We ask questions to each other. Twenty-one. That's the only rule."

His brow furrows. "Twenty-one each?"

"I know we will probably not make it to twenty-one, but it should be distracting enough for you to fall asleep quick." The game actually sounds so simple it might just work. "And, listen, I won't ask anything too challenging. I know you don't wanna talk about some issues, so I won't ask. You can go first if you want."

Gladion has never played this game, nor knows what to ask. He isn't particularly interested in her, so he's got nothing to ask her– well, he wouldn't mind asking why she's so happy, so bright yet so weirdly off-putting in battles and so violent and aggressive, but he's long assumed that's just a trait of her personality. At least today the trip here had been… _pleasant_, almost. It's something he doesn't want to think about yet, though.

So, he goes for something easy and fairly circumstantial. "Why do you sleep on trees?"

"It's an old habit of mine. I used to be scared of getting bit by wolves, so I always sleep up here. I don't feel comfortable elsewhere unless it's a bed now." Gladion nods and waits for her to ask something, his blanket under his chin. "How old are you?"

"I'm 21," that had been easy, relieving for him, "what about you?"

"Is that your final question?"

A nod. "Yeah."

"I'm 20," Moon says, and he for some reason had expected her to be younger. "My birthday is next month. But I'm not that fond of celebrating it, so I don't keep track of it that much." With a hum of approval from him, Moon thinks of her next question for a short while. "Ah, this is hard, I don't really know what to ask. I guess I'm not that cut out to ask stuff to other people."

It is then that something occurs to him. "Can I ask, then?"

"Sure."

"What happened to the guys you were working with at the desert before we reached Gemstone Village?"

That question had been in the back of his mind for a while. He had realized that her subordinates were nowhere to be found when they reached their destination and that she hadn't even mentioned them after the battle was over, which felt weird. Normally one would wait for their peers to reach their goal along with them, and not have one reach it but leave the rest hanging.

Her answer comes brisk and quick. "I don't know. I don't really care, either. They served their purpose, they got what they wanted and they left, as far as I know. And if they didn't, that's on them."

"What were they looking for?"

"Now, that's _two _questions."

"Isn't this supposed to help me sleep?"

"They were looking for some things those guys in particular had stolen a while ago. They had tracked them down and told me that they were coming, so they followed me into the desert and… well, the rest is history." Moon keeps herself silent. Gladion interprets it as thoughtful pauses, but it might be just baseless silence. "I didn't make as much use of them as they did of me. There was no need to say goodbye. I wasn't that attached to them to be bothered with their whereabouts."

He's glad she made that last comment, otherwise he would have been curious as to why she would leave her teammates so casually; but he actually _is _still curious, though he doesn't ask anymore.

And she doesn't, either. Perhaps they don't really have anything else to ask, because there is nothing else they need to know about each other for now. And despite that odd conclusion to their game, despite how bothered he is that he can hear Moon breathing and asleep, slumber comes easier to him now, and he's got no issues with sleeping for the rest of the night.

* * *

Their arrival at the Shongshu Watchpoint is washed in oranges and blues. The landscape has turned rocky but still retains a fair amount of its greenery; so, to answer Gladion's question from the day before, it's neither sandy or foresty, it's just rocky with hints of pleasant green and blue.

In fact, rivers don't stop coming. There are streams that come from rocks and forests, be it more rivers or be it a full-on waterfall. At some point, they agree to venture under the mad crash of a waterfall instead of searching for a way across the bank, so they stick their backs to the cold, moist walls of the waterfall's wall and tread sidewards. He's never been with such need to look away from the bottom than now, and much to his surprise, Moon does the same.

They are back on the beaten track soon enough. Birds chirp again and the lush trees are becoming more scarce. Going down a rocky path and out of the Evergreen Woods, the tall figure of a watchtower can be made out in the blue, pale shadows of the distance, bathed with small glints of morning sunlight. Wind rocks Moon's hair around slowly, and as she turns around, a big grin is decorating her features like it's fireworks and not just a plain watchtower.

The abnormality of this trip comes in the shape of a sleeping fisherman by the bank. Moon stops to point at the figure slouched on the shore, a fishing rod clutched in his hand that rests on his stomach. Gladion insists on getting to the watchpoint, but Moon is moved by some demonic spirit that makes her spring to the poor sleeping man. She pokes his arm in curiosity.

He immediately springs to a sitting position and groans at the sudden move, appearing to be dizzy. His skin is severely tanned by the harsh sunlight of the East, and his disheveled dark hair is kept in a ponytail that resembles one of those palm trees Gladion had seen on books. His image is immediate summer and freshness, and the sheepish smile he gives Moon is further proof of such an image.

"Whoops! Looks like I fell asleep again. Man, I'm a disaster," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. Gladion is pulled by the ungodly possibility that he will have to chastise Moon for waking up a man like that. "Who are you guys?"

On her knees, Moon puts her hands on her hips. "The name's Moon! And the sulking guy behind me is Gladbag!"

He regards Gladion with an arched eyebrow, very reasonably wondering the reality in her statement. The blond sighs. "It's Gladion. She just thinks she's being funny."

"Which I am! Much more than him, anyway." Cheeks puffed turn into a smile as she turns to the newcomer. "And what's your name?"

His eyes light up, and he puts on a grin just as bright as Moon's and Gladion _swears _he will go blind at this rate. "I'm Hau! I was just fishin' here and I guess I got carried away. Aaah, I gotta look after that better."

He puts his hands behind his head and is about to say something before something seems to crack on his arms, as he winces and stretches his arm, hissing. Gladion regards his moves with widening eyes, and Moon just stares.

Then, Hau cups his wrist and screws his eyes shut. "Oh, dude! I think I sprained my wrist!"

Gladion just thinks he must attract the weirdest of people in the entire planet: first a happy-go-lucky not-so-bad-but-still-weird assassin and now a fisherman with a broken wrist.

He really, _really _wants to take a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I didn't make as much use of them as they did of me. There was no need to say goodbye. I wasn't that attached to them to be bothered with their whereabouts." – Moon being overly detached? I wonder how that will work out.....
> 
> Moon and Gladion agreeing with something? Could this be...... SMALL AND MILD CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT? (I mean it's v little bc we're still too early to make them grow up but shh)
> 
> I hate and love this chapter because it's slow but it's FULL of lona bonding and also HAU MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD HAU HAS MADE IT TO US and he's sleeping. Meet the dork of the day. I adore him.
> 
> Also the 21 questions thing might/might not become a trend just like Gladbag is gonna be perpetually pissed about being called Gladbag and/or other variations that might come later
> 
> also trouble is right around the corner oops and it's gonna be big


	7. A Fire For Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion, Moon and Hau set camp in the Shongshu Watchpoint and take a very needed rest. Gladion might or might not be done with Moon's bullshit, too.

They reach the Shongshu Watchpoint in due time. It's a walk of fifteen minutes approximately, but it sure feels like less with Moon and Hau chatting so happily with one another. They've hit off instantly, like some sort of cosmic connection that brought those two chatterboxes together. Gladion walks by their side, silent but attentive as Hau talks about his passion for fishing.

"I mean, you _totally _can fish without bait, but it's so much more difficult to fish like that! I always use little worms as bait. Never fails!" He grins again, but contrary to Moon, his is fully enthusiastic. He's brimming with energy. They make it to the watchtower with Hau at the front. "I gotta get a new fishing rod though!"

It's the first time Gladion has seen Moon be quiet for more than a minute and he thinks it's an interesting discovery. She speaks soon enough, however. "I have never tried it, but I'm sure it'd be awesome."

As they slowly go up the wooden stairs of the big watchtower, Hau nods. "Totally!" He stops going up the stairs and sharply turns around. "Aah! I haven't even asked anything about you two! Dude, I'm a disaster."

They settle on the platform of the watchtower. There are other watchtowers scattered in the zone, but this one is the biggest one, with a big platform of wood on top and a big tent in the middle. There are other people on the platform, some sleeping in sleeping bags. There is space on a corner of the platform, and they decide to sit there while Hau has his wrist looked at in the big tent.

Moon and Gladion sit down around the wastes of an old fire. A hand over her eyes, she surveys the forest. "Look, there's such a pretty sight from here!"

He turns from unpacking an apple to follow her eyes. The watchtower overlooks the ceiling of the sparse forest, the tops tinted with the blue and yellow dye of midday sunshine.

Some birds suddenly shake out of a tree and fly to the sky, and she follows them with her eyes and keen interest.

"It's pretty," he comments. "I didn't realize the Everspring Woods were this big."

"Mhm! We walked for a while. We better eat up to recover energies." She sits down and crosses her legs, them dangling over the edge of the tall tower. There is a bundle of paper in her hands, which he later sees is a sandwich. "What do you think about Hau, by the way?"

"He's… fine. I can't have much of an opinion after less than an hour of conversation." A nod from her with a hum as she bites into her food. Gladion takes a bite of his apple. "He seems pretty energetic. Like you, but less annoying about it."

Moon's eyes flicker from the landscape to him. No signs of offense appear in her eyes. "I'd say he's nice. But we don't know much about him yet. He doesn't look dangerous at all, though."

That's true. Most people he's met in this journey have hard features and little to no energy to spare, other than Moon who remains, as always, an exception to the rule. Hau is the total opposite of that, grinning and talking his life away like they are friends. A highly social guy.

"Let's wait and see, I guess," she says. "We can stay here for a few days. The big tent is filled with soldiers from the Kandrus Empire. They could give us some guidance about the Bleakdross Incursion."

That piece of information prompts Gladion to touch one of his pockets, where he knows the photograph and medallion are, and he sighs in relief when he feels them right where he left them. If those soldiers know so much about Bleakdross, they might have seen his family somewhere.

Maybe.

It sounds like a bit of a reach but he's working with all he has.

But how is he supposed to ask when he's got no facial referent to ask for? The faces are just blurry pigments in a picture and the clothes have nothing out of the usual, maybe just a bit of a fancy taste. Gladion just knows they could be out somewhere. At least his mother's hair is identifiable enough to strike suspicion if he sees it. And the color pattern of black, white and something else.

Hau comes back soon enough, his wrist wrapped in bandages. He carries his smile along wherever he goes. His baggy clothes give him a much more laid-back appearance than what he for sure is looking to convey, and Gladion can see some muscles under that faded gray shirt of his.

He saunters to them and drops right by Gladion. "Man, that was weird. I don't like going to doctors like that."

Moon turns her head to look at him from over her shoulder. "What happened to your wrist anyway?"

"I sprained it while I was exploring the woods. Man, that was a big forest!" His face turns into a grimace, but then it disappears and a smile comes in its stead. "I was practicing some spells and I made a risky move while tryin' a new one. I just thought it was a silly thing but then… _bam_! Sprained wrist."

Gladion only retains one detail from that story. "You are a sorcerer?"

"Aw, _wizard _sounds so much cooler!" But no disdain shows in his features. It's as if there's no space in his cheerful personality for such a thing. "But yeah! I'm a sorcerer. It's super fun to play with tricks to entertain the kids."

"It sounds super handy for fights, too," Moon comments, biting on her sandwich. "Don't all sorcerers have those cool tattoos all over their bodies? There's a guy in a small town that replicates them for money. They're _so _awesome."

His eyes illuminate at that. Gladion and Moon watch with widening eyes how he pulls up his sleeves and shows engravings of dark colors on his shoulders and forearms: waves, lines, suns and moons, birds and green and orange marks embedded on his skin. He presses a hand on his bicep and grins. "They're enchanting marks! They're dope!"

Gladion has never heard that word before but it already sounds like something Hau would say. Moon is inching closer to him and looking at the marks with curious eyes, touching some and nodding to herself. It's a fascinating sight for Gladion.

"They're amazing! Where did you get them?" she asks, tracing the outline of one of the tattoos. There is a line of awe in her voice. "Did you get these when you were young? Where are you from, even? Who taught you magic? Are you self-taught?"

The blond sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Is all that really important?"

"It is for me! I wanna get to know our new friend here!" Gladion sighs but Hau appears to find nothing wrong with it, grinning and chuckling sheepishly.

"It's fine! I love questions like these! I'm actually self-taught! And about that last question…" Rubbing the back of his neck just as innocently, a trace of worry shows in his face. "The thing is… I don't remember."

Hau spends the next minutes explaining that he's got amnesia. Absolute lack of memory of all his life. He had one day woken up at the riverbank without weapons or any recollection of the events that led him to such a position. It wasn't until later when a kind family picked him up that he realized he didn't know where his actual real family was. In fact, not even his name had been in his mind until he realized he had a silver pocket watch with his name engraved on it.

That same pocket watch is held to the light in front of the two. It has lions and leaves engraved on the surface, bumpy and dirty with the passing of time. Moon holds it delicately on her palm as she inspects it, Gladion's eyes on the item as well. "I'm not really sure where that came from, but I bet it has something to do with my past! Or at least, I wanna believe that…"

"That's… so weird. And kinda cool," Moon comments under her breath, and then looks at Hau. "So you got no memories? None at all?"

Gladion cannot imagine spending his days without a past to look backward to. That would be a loss too big for him, like a hole in his heart pounding to be fulfilled. How can someone be so cheerful about a predicament so dire? How can any human being walk forward with a gap so big in their life? Wouldn't one stumble and fall? It's incomprehensible for him.

"I just know I was washed in by the river four years or so ago– maybe five? I was pretty beaten up, so it's safe to assume something nasty happened before I woke up. But that ain't worth thinking about now, right?" His manner to deflect the topic baffles Gladion. And by Moon's very rapid blinking, so does it to her. "Anyway, I was thinking I could find my way to my old life one way or another, but it also occurred to me that I might _not _want that, seein' how badly it ended last time."

"It's a safe bet you led a pretty wild life before– but that's awesome!" Moon comments. "I mean, yeah, you got amnesia, but I bet you can find your way back!"

"Your definition of 'awesome' truly defies all human logic," Gladion comments off-handedly, garnering a narrowed stare from Moon that he chooses to ignore. "In any case, I'm guessing the search has been fruitless thus far?"

"It's not like I've tried that much. I mean, I ain't that eager to go back, if that makes sense. I'm happy with my life as it is, I ain't a big fan of changes, really. It's more of a lil' space in my heart I gotta fill in."

His words make Gladion hold his breath. It reminds him of himself in more than one ways, sans how utterly nice this guy is (Gladion can admit he's not the nicest, but that's an issue for another day). They are both looking for something they once lost for one reason or another, but whether Hau is trustworthy or not is still to be seen. Moon seems to be warming up to him very quickly– _too _quickly, maybe.

He thinks their personalities might be similar but there are certain differences he can't quite pinpoint yet. "I understand."

Moon arches an eyebrow. "You do?" Then, a smirk. "My, Gladbag, you're capable of empathy? That's new."

He's turning to glare at her and probably snap but her eyes are already somewhere else, distracted with the view as she nips on her sandwich innocently. Hau laughs. "Man, you two are very weird. Are you a thing?"

Again, someone is thinking of him and her as an item. It's a constant misunderstanding that is starting to alarm him. "She's not my girlfriend."

"I can't date a guy who adds peach marmalade on toast. That's just disgusting," responds the other, her usual smile replaced with a wrinkled nose. "You're one very gross, gross man."

All he does is grunt in response and fold his arms. Moon puts her hands on her hips and smiles to herself, continuing with her sandwich. "We have been asked that same question too many times already."

"Counting this one, it would make two times."

"One is too many already." Her eager nod expresses agreement. "You really need to stop butting into existence every time I speak. It's getting creepy."

Hau observes the exchange of quips while being completely still. Moon delivers very well manufactured jabs whilst smiling all the while, clearly not caring at all about whatever Gladion has to say and thus irritating the latter further. It's something Hau has not seen before. "I'm guessing you two have been travellin' together for a while, right?"

"Around two weeks," Moon says. "Maybe two _and_ a half."

"Yeah, give or take about two weeks," Gladion completes. "We come from Gemstone Village."

"Oh, I haven't been there, but I heard it's a really nice place! A bit pricey but I bet it's worth it, at least in my opinion," Hau turns to Moon, then, who is stretching her arms and legs and now sitting facing them. "Did you meet there?"

"Nope." Moon grins. "We met while traveling through the desert!"

Gladion gives her a dead stare. "You assaulted my wagon."

"For a good reason!"

"For _no _good reason."

"Don't listen to him! He's just very tired right now," Gladion sighs, almost a grunt, and throws his weight backward until he's lying down. "We're actually going after these very bad pirate bandits. Gladion is super excited about it."

"I'm _not_."

Gladion watches from the corner of his sight how Moon leans closer to Hau and whispers something he can hear just as if she was speaking at a normal voice, meaning she just wants to piss him off. "He's a bit edgy. But he's actually nice sometimes. Just sometimes."

The unforeseen compliment appeases him enough to overlook it and settle on his spot, visibly relaxing and trying to take a nap in his casual position. Moon giggles. It's an oddly pleasing tune. "Anyway, we're gonna fight these bad guys and we're getting ready for it."

"Ooh, bad guys? Like, some bullies?"

"Oh _no_, we're gonna go after a whole pirate company!" She says it too loud to be taken seriously but somehow Hau is genuinely surprised by this and Gladion chooses, yet again, to ignore the exchange. "But we're not ready for it, I guess. So we're gonna go train."

"That sounds like so much fun!" No, it isn't. "Pirates, huh? Never heard of those here. Who are you talking about?"

Moon folds her legs and puts an elbow on her knee, smirking at Hau. "The Blackring Company!"

It takes him a few seconds to come up with an answer, but judging by the way he shakes his head and grits his teeth in blameful shame, he's clueless. "I got no idea who you're talking about, sorry. I've seen a bunch of pirates but I know no names. I haven't gotten into much trouble lately, so…"

Moon explains what the Blackring is in the next minutes, glossing over the gross parts and very giddily explaining the juicy bits about raids and stealing treasures, which she embellishes with well-placed hyperbole and lots of enthusiastic story-telling. Gladion has to give it to her, again: she's a good story-teller. Her voice is very cheery through the whole thing and she skips little to no details. She even explains the bit with her and the crystal, making Hau laugh openly.

Strangely enough, she doesn't mention her story with that company before she had met Gladion, other than mentioning that she had been chasing them around 'like cats chase rats in the forest', as she had so eloquently put it.

"So that would be the gist of it all. They're pretty bad guys. So we're gonna get rid of them and get some money." She makes it look so simple it almost looks doable. Her enthusiasm is very contagious but Gladion likes to think he's immunized at this point. "You can come with us if you want. But it might get a bit risky."

That's when Gladion interrupts the conversation for what he believes is a worthy note to place. "They will only get risky if we let her lead the way. We're only here at _my _request."

"Will you ever stop holding that over me? I ended up complying!"

"_Very_ begrudgingly."

"But I did and that's the good part of the story." He's got nothing to say to that, sadly, so she smiles at the expense of his irritation again. "We'll be going to the Bleakdross Passage soon. Maybe tomorrow."

A naïve nod from him, head tilted. "The Bleakdross Passage? Do you mean that place with the dark trees and purple earth?"

A very unpleasant thrill goes up Gladion's back but he gulps it down because there is no way it can be as bad as his clearly exhausted mind is envisioning it: a land full of monsters and dragons, swamp monsters and dark fields with no light, having to fight in the absolute dark. He should have been ready for these little details and he once thought Moon's descriptions (all cleverly camouflaged in laughter and casual conversations, he sees it clearly now) would prepare him for the battle.

But he's not that ready anymore.

And as Hau and Moon shift into slumber a few feet away, a nap well needed, the image of dragons eating him alive haunts him when he closes his eyes. It might be that he needs a whole day of sleep and a bit more food, but it's the first time that telling himself to act like the fighter he's supposed to be doesn't work.

When he finally succumbs to exhaustion, he does so being inexplicably tense. The fear of the unknown is harder to pay recognition to.

* * *

Gladion wakes up the following morning after sleeping the whole day. He's quite sure he's woken up at least once in that big clump of resting hours, but when he asks Moon groggily if that's the case, she responds with a negative, just as tired and sluggish as him.

It's good to know that the ball of energy and light can also be just as tired as him. In fact, Gladion is sure he felt less tired before sleeping than now, yet napping had come to him as a natural response of his own body, something that had never happened in the past. He used to hold a certain level of control of his own metabolism and never doze off so easily.

Traveling sure is taking its toll on his body. But he can't say he doesn't feel rested. Wood is not the best place to sleep in, but the temperature had been warm enough to render blankets useless, so his blanket had been forgotten completely.

As he rises and wakes, he finds Hau to be sleeping soundly a bit away from him. Moon is lying parallel to him a bit further from arm's reach, looking at their new unexpected comrade. "Should we wake him up?"

"Let him be. We still got plenty of time to spare before setting off," he says, voice hoarse. And he wouldn't mind staying down for a bit more. His own arm is enough of a pillow to snuggle into, and Moon's silence and more peaceful breathing tell him she's fallen asleep again.

It's weird to think about, Moon sleeping. Considering she's basically invincible and probably some sort of spawn to mess with him, the notion that someone as boundless and free as her needs something as mundane as sleep is beyond him. She's never shown proof of exhaustion before, so he wonders how she manages to hide it so well, seeing how surprising it is now that she's just as tired as him.

It's strange. Moon is strange.

He falls asleep again.

* * *

His second nap lasts much less than the prior before he wakes up. By the position of the sun, Gladion guesses it must be early in the evening. He's still groggy and sore all over after remaining in the same position all day, but he's hungry and needs to grab a bite before he can activate himself and start the day.

He twists his body and reaches for his bag, throwing the cover of his bag back and rummaging to grab water. The cold plastic kisses his fingertips and he sighs in delight, taking off the cap and taking big gulps of chilled water. His throat is now moist enough for him to think he can speak without sounding like a woodchipper, but as he cranes his head to his trip mates, he finds them to be passed out.

Hau is curled into what Gladion thinks is a jacket of a considerable size, whereas Moon is sleeping normally, legs outstretched and turned to where the landscape lies. A part of him fears that she might fall off the ledge but another part of him evilly reassures him she would laugh it off and maybe throw herself off again for kicks and giggles. It's not really his business.

Seeing them so idle and him so awake feels odd, somehow. It might be that two of the people with the most energy in his world being quiet is weird, or perhaps he still isn't used to their presence– or to others' presence, in general. He's well aware that Moon and Hau are just temporary partners until he fulfills his journey yet he's tried to put that theory into play and Moon has constantly headbutted her way into his life again.

He didn't try that hard either but he never felt he would have to. Most people usually back off and stop barking at him for attention when he barked even louder, but she's not like them. She's different, and Hau might be just like her.

His green eyes scan his peers very quietly, and then a small sigh escapes him. "So troublesome…" he mumbles.

He hears steps behind him and into the big tent at the center of the platform. A couple of guards are going under the blue folds of it while murmuring things to each other. It seems very odd to Gladion that they are being so secretive about it, so he lets his curiosity get the best of him and he gets up.

He stumbles a little and his knees buckle once, but he doesn't fall. The thought of a shower occurs to him, and he thinks that taking a dip in the river later might be a good idea. It may also stip off all that grogginess clinging to his muscles.

The swordsman takes careful steps to the tent, aware that the wood under his boots can creak. He's close enough to hear hushed whispers and the clanks of glass and drinks being poured.

"So it's confirmed, then? That big fish from the Kandrus Empire is coming to Reikyuu? That's a weird choice." Gladion's eyes widen at this, moreso at the individual in question than the place of choice.

Another voice joins the conversation. "That guy must like the sun, I guess. But yeah, he's coming with a horde of soldiers and stuff. I think they're gonna take all of the Mirage Residence for themselves, and of _course_ those Blackring little shits will come along to grab some of that gold to themselves." A sigh of resignation. "Hopefully they won't cause much trouble and behave like they are contractually obliged to, otherwise that peace treat will be for nothing."

A peace treaty? That's weird. The Blackring has been terrorizing the biggest village in the dominion and there is little to no empire reaction even with a treaty being disrespected? Gladion grits his teeth and continues eavesdropping.

"I think a handful of pirates will come and that's it, really. Some are going to the Bleakdross Incursion for some shady business. I have seen a few groups of 'em headed that way, as if I couldn't see them."

"Why didn't you fight them, then?"

"They were low shoots. Probably going there to vandalize some haunted houses and that's it. That company is dangerous but their grunts can't be taken seriously, sometimes."

Well, _that _is interesting. Buccaneers going to a place as dark and twisted as Bleakdross can only mean bad news, no matter how much these guards are downplaying it. Also why are they joking so much about all of this and doing nothing to stop it? His hands ball into tight fists. Lazy people being on the military makes no sense to him.

"Oh, well, as long as we stay here, we'll be fine. It's not like they will get much done in Bleakdross, it's all fiends and ghosts and all that creepy shit." The eavesdropped feels goosebumps crawl over the skin of his arms. "Who in their right mind would go there anyway?"

"The Blackring, clearly. They aren't the smartest tool in the shed."

Yeah, and Moon too. Of course Moon would suggest something so publicly frowned upon and so dangerous. It sounds outrageous to these guards so it's safe to assume it's unsafe for the public as well. But these guys have also proven themselves to be idiots so Gladion is on the fence about this.

With that, he parts from his spot and takes to the zone him and his mates are docked at. The sun is setting, the place covered in light darkness. He's 100% sure his sleeping schedule is by now destroyed, but sleeping was worth it.

He considers going to the river for a shower, then looks at Moon and Hau who aren't even budging. Hau had come across as a pretty heavy and easy sleeper, so his perpetual sleeping state doesn't surprise Gladion as much as Moon's ongoing slumber marathon does. In fact, she's moving so little she might as well be dead. As much as she's a fidgeting moving mess when awake, she sure looks peaceful when sleeping.

He's got time to spare now, but he makes a small private note to himself to tell them about his findings when he's back.

* * *

Moon and Hau are, indeed, awake by the time he's back, all soaked and wet from an eventful bath in the river. The water had been cold and thrashed around him, but the temperature had soothed his muscles into relaxation that he had been sure would last very little.

When he makes it back to the watchtower, Moon is holding Hau's wrist and helping him bend it around, presumably for a sort of rehabilitation of the joint that she's very likely not qualified for. Only Hau looks up to greet him. "Yo! We thought you'd have run away by now."

"I wish I had," Gladion says, bending down to take out his blanket to dry his bangs a bit, which are dripping on the dark wood. "You two finally woke up, huh?"

"We slept for almost a _day_. I must have gotten about ten times prettier with a beauty sleep that big!" Her smile is only a hint through all the concentration she's putting on Hau's wrist, but it annoys Gladion all the same. "What were you doing anyway? You're soggy."

With a small 'tch' of irritation, he sits down on his place in their makeshift circle, rubbing the blanket over his cheek. "I was taking a bath."

Moon's mouth turns into a small 'o' and she turns to Hau. "That's a good idea! I'll take one when I'm done with your wrist. How did you even get it this swollen?"

The other rubs the back of his neck, grimacing at the memory. "I don't really remember. It might have been like this for a while and I just didn't notice. I'm sure I was just practicing some spells and did something wrong."

Observing the scene, Gladion's eyebrows pinch in the middle. "What are you doing to his wrist? I don't think you are qualified for this."

"Well, are you?" she asks, turning to look at him.

"No, I'm not."

Moon smiles knowingly. "Thought so. I'm just helping him move it a little. If we're going to Bleakdross tomorrow, he's gonna need his good hand in shape! Besides, I'm a totally good nurse, right, Hau?"

Surprisingly enough Hau turns to Gladion for a small moment where he looks absolutely guilty and very much at a loss of what to say, but before Moon can ask about it, he's smiling again. "Yeah, it definitely doesn't hurt anymore!"

As him and her dissolve into senseless chatting and further lies of recovery, Gladion clears his throat. "I actually had some things to talk about with you two. I heard some interesting information from the guards in the tent."

In her sudden enthusiasm, the girl twists Hau's wrist in an abrupt direction that makes him squirm, but she's looking at Gladion now. "Please, tell us more."

Hau cups his wrist with pursed lips as the blond explains. "I heard the Blackring is going to Bleakdross. They will probably arrive there tomorrow, and they are reportedly planning some sketchy stuff in that place. I don't know what Bleakdross exactly looks like, but whatever they are up to cannot be good."

He watches their reactions separately. Hau doesn't have that much to say as he's new to this whole topic, but some sparks of excitement appear in his eyes. Moon, however, is smirking to herself and rubbing her chin, hungry for some action as always. "That's going to spice up our training for sure. Two birds with one stone, as they say."

Gladion nods in agreement, while he's slightly intimidated for whatever Moon is planning. She looks too satisfied and pleased with the news to be planning any good. "It will be interesting for sure. But we should get ready for that, it seems like we will having some dangerous company."

"Definitely," Moon agrees before she's throwing her arms up and falling on her back in a way that brings 'tragic' to mind. "But we got no money! We're broke!"

Hau is about to comment on that with what clearly looks like pity and kindness, but Gladion stops him. "We're _not _broke. We might be short on money but we definitely have enough to live and survive."

"Yeah! But it makes things harder for us," she completes, springing up to smile, not forced, but kind and encouraging. "We could use some more, though."

Hau arches an eyebrow at them. "I don't have much on me either…" Gladion and Moon sigh out, even if they had not wanted to borrow money from Hau; they are just all in the same situation. "Did the guards say anything else, maybe?"

"Yeah. They mentioned some guy from the Empire coming to Reikyuu. I'm guessing it will be some high-estate emissary in a diplomatic visit."

"Oooh! That sounds like some big shot from the Kandrus." And in his good nature, Hau doesn't hesitate to make a poorly-timed joke. "Maybe we can ask him for money!"

Gladion frowns and grunts, but it almost sounds like a groan. "Stop. Don't give her any ideas."

It's then when he realizes that Moon has been silent for one, two seconds too long, and that her presence is boring into his soul as if the devil itself was staring at him; and as he turns his head in her direction _very _slowly, he finds her to be grinning at him darkly, fingers laced under her chin and drumming them against each other.

She can't be serious. Not _this again_.

Her grin grows. "I just got an _amazing _idea."

Gladion groans and falls on his back as Moon starts planning and Hau can just stare, smile, and think this is about to get really interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE START MOVING KIDS AND MOON HAS SOMETHING IN HER MIND WHAT COULD IT BE 
> 
> submit your votes below  
a) somebody is gonna die  
b) somebody is gonna have their things stolen  
c) nobody will die  
d) All of them  
secret d option) whatever happens Gladion is gonna be absolutely PISSED
> 
> if u win you get 50 brownie points
> 
> also I'm sorry if there are any spelling mistakes I'll try to fix them asap jhvsdjklk
> 
> SOON THINGS ARE GONNA GET WRECKED you know those sorts of Things That Changed a Story Forever kinda things well THAT THING


	8. Wicked Favors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moon goes her separate way to make a very bad idea come into fruition, makes a new friend, and meets a new challenge.

"Moon, _no_."

"Moon, _yes_."

"No! What– What are you even thinking about? You're thinking about getting us in trouble, right?"

But Moon's smile doesn't falter, doesn't die. It's ironic she's constantly smiling and marching to the beat of her own drum whilst driving him insane. It's as though she finds some twisted pleasure in stringing him along into all the trouble she seeks.

It's insane. Moon must be insane to think he will agree to her plans, moreso with that wicked grin tugging at her lips.

"I'm just a genius. We agreed to this already!"

"I…" Hau's eyes pivot from the growling blond to the happy girl, feeling increasingly confused with each word they share. "I'm not sure what you guys are talking about. It can't be that bad, can it?"

Gladion's previously relaxed hand turns into a shaky fist, which he grabs with his other hand. "She's probably planning to raid the whole place and take all their money or something."

He's not ashamed to admit that he can read Moon very easily, but it might be because she makes the job terrifyingly easy. She lets on a lot of her thoughts solely by her body language: how she squirms, smiles, plans and conspires against his very own welfare; maybe that's just a collateral hit for her, which makes it even worse.

"Yikes!" Hau turns to Moon with a grimace that is partially impressed, but majorly concerned. "But why? Those guys can't be that bad, can they? They probably need the money as much as we do."

"That's not her point."

"Now, Gladbag, you know what they say about assuming," she chastises, but her smirk lingers and _Gladion hates it so goddamn much_.

"Only you would think that storming a heavily guarded area of guards is a good idea." Gladion folds his arms. They had just avoided getting into a messy political conflict with the biggest pirate company in the country; give her time to get herself into another conflict of her own volition. "How can someone even think that attacking an Empire's Emissary is a good idea?"

"Now, that's where you are wrong, grumpypants!" She's conspicuously lowered her voice but is still as boisterous as a firecracker. At least nobody is hearing her, it seems. "If an Emissary is coming to Reikyuu, he will probably throw a party, and that means he will probably want some… female company." They stare at her in silence, thoughtful and a little confused. "C'mon. You know what I mean."

The coin drops slowly but it makes noise in both faces, as their eyes widen in revulsion– not at her but the diabolical plan she wants to put into motion. "You have to be messing with us."

"You want to _seduce _the Emissary?" asks Hau more boldly, earning a curt nod from Gladion.

"You say it as if it was impossible! I'm not gonna seduce the guy as much as I'm gonna tickle him in the right parts."

With an abrupt unnecessary image implanted in his head, Gladion's first impulse is to gag at her statement, which had clearly been wrongly worded. He lets out a choked cough instead. "Don't say it like that, for fuck's sake."

"Ain't that a bit dangerous, though?" asks Hau. His expression is a full-on grimace. Unbeknownst to them, nor is it for her. "Why would the Emissary let in a… _maiden _he hasn't personally hand-picked?"

"The higher brass of the Empire often just picks whatever they have on their plate. I've seen them. They're gross dogs, all sweaty for some attention from a woman who is decently dressed. I hate them, really," she speaks with bitter distaste, but the thought of money on her hands clearly brings a spark to her eyes, hiding away the disgust at the ordeal she'd have to go through. "If the Emissary is really coming, they will for sure look for someone to keep the guy company."

"And how are you going to get in, _genius_? We are _not_ escorts, and you won't have the necessary documentation to access the building– or his bedroom, for that matter," grumbles Gladion, gesturing as he hypothesizes how it would all go down: with her and a knife to her chest and both him and Hau killed off along with her. Not very pleasant.

"If they're looking for company, as I said, they'll probably have hung a bulletin somewhere. I can bet you all my money there will be at least one," Moon says as she gets up, dusting off her clothes as she looks around.

That gesture brings Hau to chirp up in argumentation. "That sounds easy, but you don't really look like a maiden." Again, his mouth widens in a grimace, scanning her outfit of old clothes, barely existing shoes, and unkempt hair. She looks more like a peasant than an escort. "No offense."

Gladion dutifully agrees with a silent nod. Moon's teeth grind in irritation, and she looks at herself with blinking eyes and questioning gazes on her pants, which she pinches the edge of with confusion. Then, with a cheerful expression, she puts her hands on her hips. "I'll find something to work with. I'm brighter than I appear to be!"

"Even if you dress up, a dirty hedgehog will still be a hedgehog when dressed nicely. You don't have any money on you either," comments Gladion, arms folded to stare at her in disapproval. "How are you going to get new clothes?"

"I'll find a way."

Hau has been silent this whole time, staring as she answers their questions, but she hasn't responded to a very important one. "Do ya' want us to go with? We had planned to go to Bleakdross tomorrow, right? What're we gonna do, then?"

A pause, then a smile. "I'd prefer you didn't come," she says, almost airy. "You'll only get in the way."

Gladion is instantly suspicious of that answer. "Get in the way of _what_, exactly?"

"Of my mission to have fun with an Emissary that could give us lots – and I mean _lots _of money."

The other combs through his bangs, suddenly distressed by that. "Your definition of _fun _is fairly debatable."

Moon folds her arms and crouches to stare at him, eyes narrowed by a flat smile curling her face into smugness and teasing question. "Why is it so important? Scared I might ruffle some feathers?"

"People _know _we travel together. If you get in trouble there, you will get _us _in trouble too and I can see that we won't be allowed in Reikyuu if that happens." Moon seems to not understand his words, or find any meaning in his stressed hiss, for she tilts her head with a neutral expression. "I don't want my journey to be limited because you got yourself in trouble."

Something dawns on her, he sees it clear as day. It might be in the way her eyes soften yet she doesn't speak, or how her shoulders are less tense and her position feels more open, less teasing, more understanding. Hau nods in agreement beside him, and Moon nods back at him in comprehension.

"If that's all that worries you, I will stay in my best behavior." Moon leans back and falls to sit down, legs outstretched. "I don't have any necessity to kill anyone there. I just really want the money."

But he's not convinced. At all. "Why is it that I don't believe you?"

And all she does is giggle and Gladion groans because he wants to trust her but he finds himself not being able to. Granted, not many people know they are traveling together and if anything goes wrong there, he can deny any relationship with her, and so can Hau.

In hindsight, Moon has always only killed anyone when attacked, so it might not be that bad– her violent methods of fighting may be one thing and he could be making stupid correlations.

Moon just has to play her part. She's not making her case any better or more believable, though.

She turns to Hau. "You two can head to Bleakdross while I take care of things in Reikyuu. We can meet again right here when we're done." Her eyes turn to the sky in thought. "I don't know how much it'll take you guys to get some training but hopefully it won't be too bad."

Her feet are swinging sidewards along with her body, her head is tilting slightly and she is smiling. Moon is _beaming_. And that's saying a lot. The sight doesn't put Gladion at ease. "You look pleased as punch."

"That's because I am."

"You… must really be into old men to be this ecstatic about all of this," comments Hau, mirroring exactly what Gladion had been thinking about.

The girl puffs her cheeks and knits her eyebrows in a small pout, as if offended, but Gladion knows she can't be physically be offended in any shape or form. Or, at least, she doesn't show it. The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that Moon is easy to read, but not to _guess_. If she has ever been hurt by his words, she hasn't shown it.

She really just never listens to him, he's certain about that much.

She doesn't respond to Hau's claim, but her facial expression of disgust clearly refutes that fact. Moon is standing up again, the topic forgotten, and she looks around with interest. There are other smaller watchtowers around them, each with a tent and some fires lit up as night approaches. The sky is purple at this hour, and some stars are already showing up in the late evening of summer.

"I'll go look for that bulletin." Her eyes widen as she speaks. Her expression turns bright, swinging her eyes to the right. "Yep! There's a bulletin board on that tower, I think. Imma bounce and check it out!"

Hau's eyes widen as she does not take to the stairs, but is stepping backward and looking at a tree very, very viciously. "Moon? Aren't you gonna use the stairs?"

But Moon is flashing past them, feet thumping towards the edge. Gladion loosely follows her with his eyes as Moon leaps, takes hold of a branch of a very high tree and balances herself off the tree, landing on the neighboring watchtower gracefully.

Unfazed, Gladion sighs. It's not like he had expected anything different from her. "She's always ridiculous about the most mundane of tasks. You will get used to it with time, I guess."

Hau hums in agreement. He doesn't take his eyes off from her, while Gladion very much does so and focuses on folding his blanket to keep it in his backpack. "Dude, Moon is _wild_. Is that how she is all the time?"

"It becomes tiring overtime," Gladion comments. "But yeah, that's her. One day she will get herself killed, she will crawl out of her own tomb and will dance on her own grave."

His companion laughs heartily at that. His ponytail shakes with each pearl of laughter, loud and carefree. "That sounds a lot like her. I'm surprised she'd take a mission like that so easily, though."

"It's her style to take up missions and just leave with the wind. Again, you will get used to it."

"Hm! That sounds good. I bet it'll be heaps of fun." Gladion doesn't agree with that, but he doesn't voice that opinion. Hau's eyes turn from the other watchtower to him. "Do you think she's gonna be fine in that mission? She doesn't… fit in the role that well, does she?"

"That's a very fair statement," concedes Gladion, becoming tense. "She barely fits _any _role whatsoever."

But Gladion thinks about this. He thinks about it hard. He had never thought about Moon as a person, as a human being with an appearance and a face. She's got round expressive eyes with the color of coal, hair as dark as the night and very pale skin (which is odd, considering how much time she must have spent traveling). A smile is always on her face, but it's not the cute, polite and small kind that an Emissary would come to expect from an escort.

Moon is… too big to be one. Too much. Too many snickers, too many jabs, too much ignorance, too much of everything.

Maybe in those _too many_s, there is a good actor, too.

* * *

Turns out there _was _a bulletin for the mission. Just like anything she puts her faith in, the mission is on her hand and a reality. Hau blinks at the small sheet of worn paper held between Moon's two fingers, barely making out the supple amount of money offered as a reward.

Just as she had said, the prize is enormous, and the details are purposefully vague, making Gladion think that whoever is waiting for her will _not _be pleasant. But that's her business.

Hau rushes towards her with a big smile. "Woah! You got your goals clear, I see!"

"Of course I do!" Moon is fully decked in her gear, backpack on her back and hair tied behind her into a bun. She seems more exposed than usual, probably to fend off the scorching heat of the desert ahead of her. "I'll have to get through the Sandlands and a bit more, so I gotta get going as soon as possible."

The Sandlands lie to the east of the Shongshu Watchpoint, as far as Gladion knows. It's a relentless land of heat and rocky, sandy surfaces, and it's said that the place is cursed with eternal drought. Faba had once told him, as a bedtime story, that demons and fiends once meandered through the Sandlands and consumed all of its rain (yes, this was Faba's idea of a bedtime story).

It makes sense she is wearing clothes so short and revealing, then. Or, at least, it makes more sense now, because she's always worn the same outfit. She's just pulled her sleeves up and her hair is out of her face. The Kandrus Dominion is majorly warm all year, so most citizens are decked in summer clothes even when it's autumn or early winter.

"Man, I wish I could go there too! I love warm weather!" Hau says.

"The Sandlands are a bit more than warm, I would say," comments Gladion, who is a few feet away pretending not to be involved yet very obviously listening in. He's bent down packing his things, his sword by his backpack on the ground.

Moon smiles in agreement. "Yeah, it's pretty damn hot in there. It would be hard for the inexperienced traveler to go in there completely unprepared." Her eyes shift from Hau to Gladion, teasing and incriminatory. She grins, knowing she's right. "I'll be fine! I have been there a few times before."

Hau's mouth turns into a circle of surprise and curiosity. "Really? What does it look like?"

"It's all sand and ruins. I've heard that there used to be a very big temple in it, but it's now buried under the desert. I'd love to dig some more holes there, though. I bet there's a shiny treasure under all that rubble! It's a matter of being insistent."

Hau nods. "I betcha!" Moon nods back in agreement. "Maybe we can go there when you're done!"

Moon's smile fades for a second and is replaced by askance. "Speaking of, what are you two gonna do in Bleakdross?"

A shrug. The sorcerer always has this balance of nonchalance and assertiveness in his words that make him uncertain, but at the same time decided. "I think Gladbag here as a plan, but he doesn't wanna tell me about it."

Gladion curses his luck that Hau had to pick up Moon's goddamn awful nickname. "It's not that. I don't really know where to go in Bleakdross, so we will probably explore the area and wing it."

"Wing it?" Moon whistles, putting her hands on her hips as Gladion packs his things, grabs his sword and stands up, him adjusting his backpack on his shoulders. "That doesn't sound like you, Gladbag. I'm disappointed."

"Says the one who is going to sleep with a guy for money."

In the way she is about to say something but then _doesn't _and smiles means that she knows something he doesn't, bringing him a heavy sense of discomfort that doesn't quite stop stirring. "I think there's a soldier watchpoint close to the entrance of Bleakdross, behind some ruins to the north. Don't go too far into the place or a nasty bat might bite you in the ass."

"Woah, really!?"

A few feet away from them, Gladion is dragging his feet away from the conversation and to the exit, his shoulders hunched yet apparently unfazed by this. "She's insane. Let's go."

Hau hurries to follow Gladion, rushing with thumping feet to the steep wooden staircase as Moon waves them goodbye with a mischievous grin. "Good luck out there, Moon!"

"Same, you two! Don't let the fiends eat you alive!"

A beat of silence passes, wind closing in around her as she stares at the landscape in silence. Moon takes a minute to register that she is alone now for the first time in a while, and relishes in the feeling before somebody is tapping her shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss."

She turns around to see a guard giving her a piece of old paper, where a just as old picture is drawn with black lead. A man of messy white hair and glaring eyes stands in the picture. There is a name under it, but part of the letters are blurry and the font is pretty convoluted. Moon can only make out a Z in the name. "We are looking for this young man. He's been missing for quite some time, and the family is still looking for him."

Moon grabs the paper. The man in the bulletin clearly is not that _young_, and he would for sure look different now. Gulping down the utter distaste she feels for the guard in front of him and his uniform, she speaks again. "How much would this 'quite some time' mean?"

"We would say years. A bunch of them. His family recently reached out to us, seeking help, and you appear to be an experienced traveler." The fake and forced fact, constructed to look like a compliment, doesn't faze her. "You don't happen to know his whereabouts, right?"

Silently, Moon goes over the pictures of her life, her adventures and all the people she's met.

Then, she hands the paper back to him. "Nope. Not at all."

The guard sighs and takes the bulletin. "That's too bad. Please, tell us if you ever see him. His family is crazy worried about the kid."

She nods and takes that quest to the back of her head, watching the guard leave as she wonders where a kid could have gone for a time so long.

* * *

The Sandlands are tougher than she remembers them. In fact, Moon can barely get her feet off the sand as she trudges her way past the ruins. They tower over her and peek out of the orange land like titans seeking help. Moon is pretty sure they used to be higher, or less deep into the sand. The sandstorms clearly haven't gotten any better since she last walked through this place, nor has it gotten better for her.

She covers her eyes as she walks. Her bun has been undone for a while, sand hitting her skin with none of the tenderness she would have come to expect from a place as empty and pretty as this– at least it's pretty for _her_. Whatever could be pretty is hidden by the storm and the translucent winds, but she can see Reikyuu's walls in the distance, like a pale yellow shadow.

It's so _hot_, too. Long gone are the breezes of Everspring Forest and now, all she feels is the curse of unbidden sunlight and what will become a sunburn on her shoulders. The fabric of her backpack grinds against her skin and irritates the flesh. She would have to apply some lotion when she gets there, lest the Emissary finds her to be unworthy of his presence.

God, the thought is revolting on its own. But giving up is not in Moon's dictionary, it never has been– so she walks onwards, squints her eyes, blinks away the crusty layer of sand on her eyelashes, and puts one foot at front, then another. She sinks into the sand, takes her old shoe out of the sinking deeps, then tries again.

The town is getting closer, bit by bit. It occurs to her that water was the only thing she's got a wild need for yet did _not _bring. But Moon won't die there. Absolutely not. Absolutely–

Moon's shoe catches with a rock and she falls headfirst to the ground, which only now happens to be solid and just thinly covered with sand. The ground boils under her face and she spits out a mouthful of sand and what possibly are the ashes of a thousand ancestors.

"Goddammit." Moon grunts, feeling fifty-degree burns on her cheeks blister her skin. Her fingers try to clutch the sand to move forward, and she staggers to a standing position. She prays for some kind soul in Reikyuu to offer her a cold shower. "This is ridiculous."

She is a third of the way into the desert when the storm comes to an abrupt end. In the same way it has whirled to life before her very own eyes, the last vestiges of the sandy wind disappear into the sky, leaving a scorching land at her feet and the light hot breeze against her neck.

Clearly seeing Reikyuu now and what seems to be an iron fountain standing out in the distance, she hurries; sh nearly trips again, but regains her balance and recovers all the grace and beauty of her stride and run. Her bag bounces on her back, what few things she's got in it rattling along.

She's soon gasping for hotter air and supporting her weight on her knees. Moon likes to consider herself a grasshopper, boundless and free in nature like the wind, but clearly that only applies to _grass_, as her self-acclaimed nickname puts it.

"Water?"

She looks up and rubs some sand off her eyes, seeing a little girl with purple hair offering her a suspiciously full bottle of crisp icy water. Nodding eagerly, Moon unscrews the tap and takes generous chugs from it, drops rolling down her jaw.

The girl before her giggles into her palm. "Ha, you got caught up in the sandstorm! That must have hurt a lot!"

Blinking again and wiping some water off her chin, Moon inspects the girl in front of her, who is swinging her arms at her sides as her gray eyes peer up to her. Her purple hair is pulled back with a golden hairpin, very fancy-looking, and her dress is just as purple with patches of blue and silver, sleeves ruffled and it all sewn together by what Moon thinks is golden thread.

Despite her rich appearance (undoubtedly a reflection of Reikyuu's high society, if she lives here) is contrasted by her lack of shoes. Only then does Moon wonder if she's so rich she doesn't care or if she's so poor she's stolen the dress from some bazaar. After all, most of the population of the town is impoverished, and this girl looks oddly thin and her eyes are strangely haunted.

"My name's Acerola!" She offers Moon her hand, and she shakes it with a renewed smile. "Nice to meet you! What is a girl like you doing here?"

Her usual spring of sunshine is back, hands on her hips as she grins down at the small girl. "I'm Moon! I'm here for a mission with some big guy from the Kandrus Empire."

"Hee hee, that sounds interesting!" The girl leaps a step in Moon's direction and takes a whiff of her, prompting Moon to flinch in surprise. Acerola has a scent like… jasmine. And rice. And bay leaf, and then some anise. Like food, but nice. "Nice to meet you! I can guide you around here if you want!"

Before Moon can say that she's already been here a few times and that she can go around on her own just fine, Acerola is tugging at her hand and guiding Moon to the entrance of the town.

The tour is only hindered by Moon and Acerola carrying jugs of water into the town, mostly at Acerola's insistence. Despite Moon's evident exhaustion – it's in her sloppy steps, which are getting better with time – she obeys. Reikyuu is nothing more than a glorified shelter, surrounded by tall walls and made up of bazaars and houses of pale yolk cement. The ground is harder and correctly paved for them to walk on, and Moon is relieved to no longer find sand under her shoes.

"There are a _lot _of kiddos here! They are all heaps of fun to play with," Acerola comments as she leaves the two jugs of water in front of a bazaar. It's very appalling to Moon that a girl so slow can lift such weight with such ease. "Oh! Also, your clothes are a hot mess! What happened to your shoes?"

Moon regards them for one second before looking back up kindly. "They're a bit old, all right. And the sandstorm didn't help much, I'm guessing. But they're still servable!"

The girl puts a finger on her lower lip and looks at them carefully, pointedly and for a second too long. "I bet they are _so _uncomfy, though! Maybe you could get some new ones in one of the bazaars in town. Most of them are owned by little kids, so be careful and don't get scammed!"

That's a very odd piece of advice, but Acerola is already a bit odd by herself. It might be that the thin veil of tiredness in Moon's eyes makes her moves a bit more off and slow. And the way she talks is also very… cheery. It's almost creepy, except her words are cute and her smile resembles that of a kitten.

Acerola points at a towering building across the empty space in the center of the town. It's round end endlessly tall, only rivaled by the round watchtowers perched at the sides of the town's protective walls. They are surrounded by lights and red ceilings, everything shining and giving off a dignified aspect to its surroundings, horns poking from the roofs and crowned by more opulence.

Moon has never been inside that building but she's one hundred percent sure she will be headed there soon if the location in the bulletin for her mission is right. "That's Reikyuu's Mirage Hotel! I have been there a few times myself, even the water costs one kidney and a half! No peasant is allowed in there."

"It looks expensive for sure." Moon shoots Acerola a toothy grin. "But I bet I could sneak in there like the skilled assassin I am."

The girl blinks fast and intensely, smiling in awe. "Ooh, really? That sounds dangerous!"

Before Moon can nod in agreement and go off about how all the adventures she's been through (and also voice her surprise, because Acerola had not looked scared at all), they hear the clamor of steps exiting the Mirage, and they see a mob of people walking down the steps of the hotel with a saunter, decked in black and golden.

Some of them are wearing helmets and hats despite the heat. In fact, the cloaks cover all of their bodies. One of the guys leading the pack, black hair and scars littering his face, cranes his head to the two girls and snarls at Moon when he catches her staring, prompting the girl to fold her arms and frown twice as fiercely.

"Wow, _douche_." Acerola giggles at Moon's comment. "Who are those guys?"

"Just rats from the sewer, probably. With those clothes, they probably live in some half-assed devilish lair or whatever. Yuck!"

Moon whirls her head to her companion, who is following them with her gray eyes. "You sure speak like an adult!" Acerola turns around and Moon smirks at her. "How old are you?"

"Older than you assume, that's for sure!" The woman blinks in confusion but she shrugs the comment off with a smile. "Anyway, you didn't look scared at all of those guys! How come you are _sooo_ brave?"

"Brave? They were only walking by."

"Yeah, but he could have come fight you or something." Acerola gives Moon a questioning tilt of her head. "What would you have done then? They… don't look particularly nice."

Moon's response to a challenge like this is always the same, but on different levels and intensity: puffing her chest, crossing her now sand-brushed arms and jutting her chin. "I would have given them a good ol' beating! I wouldn't let one piece of shit glare me down and get away with it."

"Mhm." Acerola crosses her hands behind her back, regarding Moon whilst balancing her weight on her heels. Moon briefly wonders how the sand isn't burning her soles off. "You sound so brave."

"You could say I am!"

But then, her expression dims a little. She's not sullen, she's not disappointed, but it lacks part of the light it always carries along with her wind. If the wind exists, so does Moon; but it suddenly feels like the air has been knocked out of her lungs, and she becomes quiet and thoughtful, wrapped in her imagination.

"I guess I have seen a lot of things happen and I don't like being defenseless, y'know." And as soon as it goes, the cheery smile comes back and she is bouncing with energy again. "But I wouldn't let any jerk just go around insulting me! Villains are the worst."

A pause. Only the background white noise of people going around fills in the space before Moon realizes she might have spoken too much. Instead of apologizing, she turns to Acerola and tilts her head. "I'm surprised a little girl like you isn't scared of a mighty assassin like me! Why… wait, why are you giving me that face?"

Acerola looks at her with a very small placid smile. In the openness of Reikyuu and the dryness of the area, the sky suddenly seems clearer, blue and cloudless. Birds are chirping around in the dry town. It feels like it's spring and rain might fall anytime soon; the little girl surveys her surroundings momentarily as if time isn't passing, as though everything is too small when, in fact, Moon would say everything is very big.

There's a sudden calm vastness in Acerola's clear eyes that she can't pinpoint. "It's nothing. I just think you are a pretty cool person." Moon can't feel proud of this before the girl is looking at her shoes again. "Anyway, I hope you get new shoes soon. You won't climb high and good places with those, that's for sure!"

By inertia, Moon pulls her gaze to her old shoes. "Yeah! I will!" She looks up again. "I'm sure everything…"

Acerola is gone. Not even her shadow remains. Startled, Moon looks around for a trace of the little girl's clothes and hair, knowing it should be easy to spot considering the light background– but nothing comes up other than children running around and several pots of deep brown scattered throughout the neighborhood. All that remains is the faint scent of rice and bay leaf, considerably more pungent now.

Moon turns her head to the elegant building of Reikyuu's Mirage Hotel, staring down at her like she's a rat and that building alone is destined to fend her off, like a father staring down on a rebellious child; yet she is a treasure hunter. And treasure hunters _never _turn their eyes away from a prize.

With a smirk, she puts her balled fists on her waist, staring up just as daringly at the invisible menace. "Let's play then, big fat fish."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no dw Moon is NOT gonna do That Nasty Thing because she has PLANS and :) I wonder how that'll go
> 
> if there's something I love about their dialogue (though I DETEST this chapter's writing with a passion) is the science of linguistics ahem:  
\- Gladion uses very few contractions other than the instinctive ones, but some he doesn't use bc of his education (i.e. he uses 'you're' but not 'he'll', or not at times but BEING AROUND PEOPLE SOMETIMES CHANGES THESE THINGS  
\- Moon uses lots of contractions and exclamations (gonna, wanna, you're, etc). She also uses Besides a LOT  
\- Hau talks mainly with contractions and is like Moon but x2  
I love linguistics and I love this detail a LOT JFHJKDCKOSA sorry
> 
> next time we're gonna go ghost hunting kids


	9. The Haunted Plains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion and Hau explore the dark, empty and barren lands of the Bleakdross Incursion.

Bleakdross, Gladion soon learns, is not what he had expected. In a sense, he should have seen it coming; after all, none of what he's seen thus far can be described as expected nor normal, but he would have been thankful to have some sort of idea of what he would see, just to be mentally ready for whatever was to come.

Moon has described Bleakdross as 'dark', and she had been right: the sky is cursed with eternal nighttime, a cloudy yet starry one at that. She had said that the area is riddled with dark chi fiends, and she had also been right about that: away from the beaten path, creatures of shapes he's never seen or imagined roam on the withered meadows and circle around shacks that once classified as homes.

There are cobwebs _everywhere_, and trees no longer have leaves, but magpies and crows are perched on their branches. The constant hooting of owls and the chirping of crickets haunt the dark, eternally night-lit fields.

It's also a bit colder than he had expected. The Kandrus Dominion is pretty warm far and wide, yet this zone is inexplicably cold. It's as if something lies within the soil that refuses to allow heat and life to flourish again. Much to Gladion's surprise, Hau is unfazed by these conditions and walks forward in either blunt bravery or ignorant recklessness– but that's better than being a coward.

The houses are abandoned and there are a _lot _of them. This place used to be heavily inhabited, which begs the question of what could have gone wrong to wipe out an entire zone from existence just like that. Perhaps it's in his curious nature to wonder, and perhaps it's also in his nature to also not want to find out.

So when they step into the Bleakdross Incursion, it's like traveling in time. The sky goes from clear and sunny to a very short glimpse of a sunset in a storm, and then, it's all black. Lampposts riddled by spiders and decaying metal illuminate the harsh path up to what Moon had denominated the Highlands, where Gladion could see the aforementioned groups of soldiers and tents.

The Highlands would have been populated in the past, probably by elegant and wealthy people. The houses, now torn down and purple in the dying light of Bleakdross, are big in structure and in age. Things are left as they had once been. Despite the layer of years and time that cover the surface, everything is timeless. Only the twisting fiends and the growing shadows prove the passing of time.

Hau rushes in faster than Gladion, stops to gawk at his surroundings and then turns back to Gladion with an uneasy grimace of distress. "Dude, this place is legit _creepy_. What got into Moon to want to come here? And look at all those marks on the ground! What's up with these?"

Gladion looks to his feet. There are a few engravings covered by a thin layer of purplish sand and pebbles, which he's seen scribbled and engraved in several pillars of the town's homes already, and they are hardly deep into the zone. He wonders what those could be about.

Hau's first question is a very good one that, like anything related to that woman, he cannot answer. "Probably thought there would be some flashy treasure somewhere. She can't help herself." The patch of grass under his feet is unnaturally dark and withered. "There is something wrong here."

"Right? I don't even know how to explain it." The other walks forward to the stone steps, his shape outlined by the orange lamps. "Let's get goin' or else some nasty fiend is gonna have us for dinner!"

Gladion wants to say it would have them for _lunch _but he can't tell the time anymore. That must be another charm of this place, he considers, even though it's not as enchanting as he wants it to believe. But he needs to be strong and brave and _not _chicken out.

Not even when there are very gross sounds somewhere to his right behind a house and how he's sure somebody is murmuring things from deep under a water well.

Gulping, he steps forward. From time to time, Hau will stop running around and glance around. Everything is surrounded by haunted houses and what probably are nests for monsters. Very fitting to train if you are as reckless as Moon is.

"Soooo, where exactly are we?"

Gladion stops right by Hau again. "Moon explained it earlier." It's meant to come as a complaint, but he just sounds grumpy and tired. "We are in the Highlands of Bleakdross. She also said there's some fancy tower deeper into this place, but I got no clue how to get there."

"That definitely sounds like something she would wanna explore. What a shame she's not here, right?" Something in Hau's voice sounds awfully tense, but Gladion does not voice this out. "I bet she would've been all jumpy about it."

"Might be a shame for you," Gladion comments off-handedly, taking a step forward. Squinted eyes search for what could resemble a camping sight, and he finds a bigger one in the distance. "Let's get going. There seems to be a camping place there."

And Gladion walks forward, takes to the steps and ascends them one by one. Only when he's at the top of the steps does he hear Hau rushing towards him, shouting at him to wait. However, his voice is smaller than expected, as if the fiends would be alerted by their presence. But, as of now, nobody seems to have seen them yet.

The walk to the camping is silent and done between glances to their sides and backs. It feels like walking through a dark hallway in the dead of the night, except the monsters are very real this time around. Gladion notices, yet again, that Hau is very silent and much more reserved than what he had made himself look like these last days of companionship, but he wants to think he just doesn't know him enough yet. He also seems fairly disoriented, at times throwing lost glances around him when he thinks Gladion isn't looking.

Something must be in his mind. He might be thinking of Moon. It's a foolish thing to do, yet she enters his mind again and Gladion curses quietly to himself. "Y'okay?"

"Yeah," Gladion murmurs. He's got Moon's snickers and grins burnt between his eyes. "I just don't like this place. Reminds me of some twisted nightmare."

"Totally." Hau adjusts his backpack on his shoulder awkwardly, fidgeting with the straps. His staff bounces against the stripes. "There's something in the air– like when a storm is coming? Or when somebody is following you. And I really wouldn't mind going for a nap right now."

Hau being sleepy is a given, but the rest isn't. Gladion isn't particularly sleepy but he does feel a certain force pulling at his conscious. Moon had mentioned how dark chi works a few times, all far and few in between, but she hadn't been able to give out many details. It's understandable why, now.

"Let's hurry," says Gladion, increasing his pace. "This place is spooky. I don't feel comfortable without a trustworthy source of light around."

A grin curls its way into Hau's expression. "Is someone scared of darkness?"

"Of course not. It's just a matter of being practical. And clever. And just smart, in general."

Their walk turns brisk and the camping comes into view fairly quickly. It's surrounded by rudimentary walls of wood and there are several tents scattered in the area, along with the walls of other houses and some beasts that are amicably talking to others. Gladion can make out the faintest of human lexicon in their speech, which surprises him and Hau, whose eyes are wide enough to contain the whole of the Soakedge Seas.

A soldier comes to them with a salute that Gladion and Hau respond to with one of their own. He's decked in blue and white, the colors of the Kandrus, all dotted with details of red and black. "Good evening. Are you two emissaries from the Emperor? We heard we would be getting recruits, but…"

Gladion raises an eyebrow. "But?"

"You guys don't look like recruits. If anything, you kids look like the ones needing assistance."

Gladion is quick to frown at this and ball his hands into fists, swallowing his pride to not get into problems with these guys. Hau seems nonchalant about this jab and stands there, observing his companion's change in his expression with a pinch of amusement.

A sigh, the sagging of his shoulders, then the memory that getting in trouble with people this big won't get him anywhere– even though he can probably give them a beating and a half. "We're looking for guidance around here. We want to train for... personal reasons, and an acquaintance of ours told us this would be a good place to start."

The guard gives them a very worried look, like that of utter cluelessness and a pinch of shock two kids are there just to _train_. Judging by the state of his armor, things have been rough here. "Wow, your friend must have the guts the size of a mountain to send anyone here."

"Agreed!" chirps Hau in, making Gladion give him a sideways glance. "We just want the hard stuff. We ain't no pushovers."

The guard doesn't have any answers to give, if the way he looks at them without a clue and that slightly knit eyebrows are any proof of that. "Right… do you guys even know how to fight?"

Hau puffs his cheeks, his eyebrows sinking as well before Gladion can say anything. "Of course we do! Don't take us for just a pair of toddlers, we can hold our own with just as much strength as a bunch of you guys!"

"Now, now, that's very high praise on yourselves, kid." Gladion sort of agrees with this, even though he's well aware that he can keep up with anything he's thrown. Hau, however, might be another story, for Gladion hasn't seen him fight. "At least your friend there has a sword– a wonky one, but it's a sword. What do _you _even have?"

Hau dedicates the guard a pair of seconds of leveled staring, cheeks puffy and eyes stone hard before he reaches behind him – without breaking his stare, a detail worth mentioning – and takes out his staff. Gladion momentarily wonders if Hau also has issues with authority and prays to whoever is listening for that not to be the case.

His staff is decisively in front of him and pointed at the guard. "I'm a magician! I can burn your ass like grilled tomatoes if you don't take us seriously."

"Oh, that sounds _so _menacing," the guard cackles, throwing his head back in amusement. Gladion stares at the guard with growing irritation, not because he's making fun of Hau but because he's so very irritating. "What are you gonna do, huh? Make a little fire and tan my skin?"

Before Hau could get further on his face and continue this exchange, Gladion steps in between them. Hau is visibly taken aback by this. "We're not looking for any trouble, but if you need us to demonstrate our credentials, we won't go down without a fight." His hand lingers over the handle of his Silvally. His companion's eyes are on the weapon. "Step aside, or I won't hold back."

Because saying 'we' would speak on Hau's behalf and Gladion isn't sure how he feels about fighting, but he sure had been close to whipping his ass. Or, at least, it appeared to be the case, but Hau appears to be calm now.

The guard regards them with relative impassivity, and now holds Gladion's glare to a level most soldiers could only envy.

"Well, you got some guts, kid– staring down at a soldier of your Empire like that. You're lucky I'm not on patrol duty, or you could get arrested."

And with that, he lets them be and the camping site is open for them, some guards looking at them with a considerable level with hostility, others regarding them almost proudly. Clearly there are antagonizing opinions in that rather limited space.

Hau comes up from behind. "Dude, did you just glare down at a Kandrus soldier? I thought you didn't want to get into trouble."

Gladion turns around and harshly whispers with a frown. "You were clearly about to cause a ruckus, and I don't want what little help we can have to be robbed from us." Hands on his hips, he cranes his head over his shoulder. "And as much as I hate to say this, Moon has a reason to not like people like that guy."

"Yeah, he was real nasty and rude. The hell's his deal?"

"I don't know, but I really hope not all of them are like this."

Hau bends his arms behind his head, grinning. "Why? Scared Moon might lose her shit if some dude gets in her way?"

Gladion grows tense at the thought of Moon getting into any trouble there. He had explicitly told her to take it easy but Moon is very, very unpredictable. Her getting into trouble there will mean _him _getting into trouble and he can't have that for the sake of his mission and objectives.

"Thanks for the nightmares. I really did _not _need that."

Hau chuckles to himself and keeps his staff in its place, right on his back. Gladion doesn't understand his amusement and as the thought of Moon messing up with his future missions keeps stirring, another guard approaches them. His face is instantly friendlier and much more relaxed, carrying a spear in his hand but not pointing it at them right away.

If smiles were a pat on the back, Hau and Gladion's backs would be numb in relaxation. "Sorry for my mate's behavior. Things have gotten sticky in these parts," he explains kindly, gesturing around him. "The Emperor's gotten eager and paranoid about another Dark Realm situation happening. No need for another Karee situation again, as he puts it."

Gladion has _no _idea what he means with that other than the Dark Realm situation that Moon has speculated about, but the rest is a mumble he can't really understand. Hau seems just as confused as him. "Yeah… it's fine. No harm done," he murmurs.

"Yeah! We're just a bit impatient!" Hau puts his hand on Gladion's shoulder and the latter tenses up immediately, flinching. "All we would need are directions. And a bit of space to sleep when we get tired. And if you guys have some food, that would be awesome."

"Directions, huh? It's not like Bleakdross has that many sightseeing points, but I overheard you want to train here, am I correct?"

He's not only correct, but he's also absolutely _right_. The thought of coming to this place just for sight-seeing purposes is something only Moon would think of and it's not surprising Gladion is thinking of her in a place as terrifying as this. He sighs. "Yeah, we are here to train."

"Well, that really is a drastic measure, but I won't be one to stop you two from taking some work off our hands," the guard explains and both Hau and Gladion exhale in relief, because another conflict would have been so unwelcome. "This town– if you can call it that, is full of fiends. They feed off the dark chi of the land only, so you won't necessarily get into trouble if you stick close to the entrance of Bleakdross."

Hau's expression illuminates at the ease of the zone's dynamics. "That sounds easy!"

"If you want easy training, you will be fine." Gladion's eyes harden at that, seeing the challenge coming. "But a bit deeper into the pastures there are more houses and then, there's a river and a lake, right in the entrance of the Orchard of Souls. There's this big monster that has my men absolutely _terrorized_, we don't even know what it is."

Gladion's eyes become intrigued by this piece of information, whereas Hau has gone silent. "Interesting. A monster?"

"If we can call it that," responds the guard. "They say it's too big for it to be from here, but I haven't seen it myself. Perhaps if you guys see it – and hopefully _defeat _it – we can talk about some food and shelter, and even some coins."

"Wait, _defeat _it?" interjects, his face showing pure and evident displeasure at the idea, uncomfortable. "Why do we need to defeat it? We don't know if it's evil, right?"

Gladion doesn't answer to this, mostly because his mind is somewhere else, but he does agree that there should be no need to defeat it unless it has had malicious intent, which the guard does not clear up. "The beast seemed dangerous enough to be worth taking down, I'd say. But that's up to you two to decide. I won't force two kids to go get themselves killed."

The nonchalance in the way he shrugs them off and turns and leaves astounds Gladion to the point he wants to draw the sword again. It had been provocative and very much intended to bait them into going when Gladion had been already convinced from the get-go; he really just doesn't like being called a kid.

Or being doubted.

Two things that usually go together, sadly.

Hau is quick to calm him down, though. Or at least, he _tries _to. "I guess we won't be taking it easy, then?"

By the way Gladion's hand twitches and he shakes his head very, very slowly, that means a solid and a bit upset _no_. Hau can just hope that little wound to his pride will not hurt for too long.

* * *

Gladion and Hau make it through Bleakdross with wavering will and tense backs. The deeper they tread into the incursion, the more silent it becomes around then. Gladion had heard of tales where the would howl at the moon and bats would roam freely out of graveyards, and skeletons would shake out of their reverie and cackle.

The slack thereof is more terrifying than anything else he could have expected, because his expectations are constantly being refuted and he doesn't know how long it'll be until he's got control over the situation. Some fiends have attacked them and they have been able to fend them off with relative ease. The dark chi ingrained in the roots of this land had not gotten to them just yet, but there is a difficulty in walking forward that Gladion can't shake off his head.

As the guard had warned them, things have gotten complicated. Paths have become more abrupt and where once lay a beaten path, now there's only black sand and stones. Hau's magic has been able to keep most of them at bay, and where he failed, Gladion would come with his sword and eliminate all of them with a precise slice of his blade. As Hau fights from afar and is much more prone to dialoguing than Moon, fighting with him is a bit easier– but there are still some edges to be polished in the way Hau seems reluctant to hurt some creatures.

"Hau, you could have just hit it and done. It doesn't have a heart, it doesn't have a _brain_, it's just a clump of dark chi." He says as he cuts some thorny vines off the way, the chopped ends falling with thumps. "You nearly got me killed there. You need to warn me whenever you decide to change your strategy."

"I'm sorry! I just didn't really wanna hurt a creature that had not done anything to us! It was just on our way!"

Gladion sighs out with a weight that screams irritation, then turns around. "First, do not call them _creatures_. They are beings from the Dark Realm if the legends are correct, and they feed on the dark chi in this land. Getting rid of them is like disinfecting the earth, sort of."

"Woah! Really?" Turning again, Gladion finishes cutting off the thorns in their path and nods. "It ain't my style to be so… careless about who I kill. It feels a bit wrong, sometimes."

Can he say such hesitation is fine? In a way, it's good Hau is guarded about who he attacks, but it could also prove to be a hinder in the future. He's proven to have a considerable amount of skill and power, one that Gladion can't measure as he's not really versed in the field of magic; but he knows that by leaving these creatures to meander freely, nothing good will happen.

Which brings one thought to mind. "Come to think of it, if these fiends feed on the dark chi… It could be that we are getting infected with that dark chi, too."

Hau stills behind him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"As I just said, we're disinfecting the land by destroying the fiends. I think the dark chi here is just residual chi from something that must have happened here years ago, and it will take a long time for it to fade. If the fiends are eating from it and they aren't, you know, visibly _eating _it, then it could be in the air. They must be taking it in indirectly," he says, looking around him. There are fiends in the distance, none of them doing anything other than ambling and screeching.

"Indirectly? Like, breathing it in?" asks Hau, his arms slack by his side and eyes darting around, visibly shaken up by this.

"Sort of. But that leaves us with the possibility that we could be breathing it in as well." Which is not ideal or healthy, he completes in his head.

Hau appears to be alarmed by this, but nothing has happened to them as of yet other than a bit of tiredness, but that could be explained by the long walk they had taken and their lack of sleep. "Dude, that sounds _bad_. I don't wanna become a dark fiend, they look so ugly."

"Then we need to get going. Don't hesitate to eliminate any monster on our way; think of it as a favor for Bleakdross." The advice is welcomed eagerly with Hau's nod and a grin threatening to break through his expression, but to Gladion's surprise, it doesn't come up.

The maze they are currently going through had been Hau's idea of a short-cut, and while Gladion isn't against it and results had yet to show up, he's not that fond of how his Silvally is growing dents on its edge.

When they eventually make it out of there, they don't have time to be mesmerized by the view before something brings Gladion to his knees along with Hau, who groans in pain, both on their knees with jagged breathing and thumping hearts. There is _something _before them that has a presence so heavy it's difficult to breathe.

Then, a screech comes somewhere to their front, muffled and in pain. When Gladion looks up, muttering a little "The hell…"

There's a tower before them. It's in shambles, surrounded by a pit of water and what seems like a giant vine of thorns and withered flowers wrapping around the vacant structure. It looks like a tower that once shone in glory but is now stuffed with cobwebs, rotting plants and the myriad of fiends that Gladion is sure inhabit the structure.

"What's that?" asks Hau, squinting to see around him. There is a light curtain of smoke around them and the tower, and as they are recovering from the hit, they wonder where exactly they are. "Could this be the place that guard talked about earlier? I wouldn't wanna stumble with some dangerous beast so easily."

"There's a high possibility that's the case," says Gladion, walking forward while Hau squeaks at his blunt stride, scrambling to follow him. "Let's get going and find out."

"Wait a sec!" Hau shuffles around the decided swordmaster, alarm ringing in the ups and downs of his voice and how he's going around like a headless duck. "You just wanna go in there and go for the kill? Did Moon possess you or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous, we're just going to go take a look, and we will go back after that." But Hau is not appeased and is about to sputter something else before Gladion puts a hand up to interrupt him. They stand right at the beginning of the bridge headed to the tower. "We won't run into trouble as long as we are silent."

The other looks up at the tower. The size of the tower is monumental, so much so Hau can only wonder how big the monster within is. "Dude, this doesn't give me good vibes. We should run before some titan comes out of there."

"There won't be any titans in there."

Hau bounces his weight from side to side. "What if there's some sort of evil demon in there?"

Gladion sees in his voice a feeling he had not heard in a long time, a quiver in his voice and a tremble in his stance, all that can be translated into dignified yet pungent _fear_. "We're going in." So, he tries the best thing he can do. "Are you _scared_?"

Hau immediately squares up and he grows stiff, almost like a growing rigid in the cold of winter. His face becomes like stone, his eyes harden and his lips fall into a thin line. "Of course _not_!"

"Then let's get in and see what we can find," says Gladion as he walks deeper into the bridge. The wood under their feet creaks and echoes throughout the zone. The turbulent waters move under the bridge with little rocks of the waves. "This place is too silent."

"Dude, it is…" mumbles Hau behind him. His steps are a bit heavier than his, and when a chip of wood cracks under Hau's step, he yelps and leaps to the other side of the bridge, causing Gladion to huff in irritation. "I- I think I'll be light on my feet, just in case."

They are right at the tower's doorstep when another crack alerts him. He looks back on his steps to see that a plank of old wood has fallen to the pit of dark water below them, and that the bridge suddenly looks even older than it had at first sight. The gate before them is made of heavy chipped metal, faded blue and intricate decorations he can't understand filling the double doors.

Hau stares in silence at the entrance, hands fidgeting nervously with the straps of his backpack. "How can we open this? Should we use brute force or something?"

And with the fall of another plank of the bridge comes a heavy noise from behind the doors, muddled with echo and debris colliding to the floor along with the thump. There is a small yell, one that both Gladion and Hau know is _not _human, which makes them stiffen visibly before they feel that presence getting closer.

"I… I think they're coming to the front door…!"

And the doors slam open, revealing a heavy cloud of dust and the shards of wall that have fallen off from inside come down with the mist. A claw runs past the floor and Hau has enough time to avoid the sweep, but Gladion is caught in the hands of a creature with red scales and metal claws, screaming as his body is trapped in the tight grip.

"Gladion!" screams Hau, seeing his companion be lifted in the air. The beast's appearance cannot be seen, but the size of the claw gripping his friend is proof enough that it must be _huge_. "Are you okay!?"

The swordmaster is squirming within the claws of the monster, and as he tries to look back and identify the attacker, he finds it to be surrounded by a cloud of dark chi and the own darkness of the tower– all he can make out are red eyes and black scales, red scale, gashes of blood and the screams of pain from this creature. "I'm fine! I'll find a way out!"

"Dude, are you insane!?" Hau looks around him, everywhere, looking for anything that could help the situation, and then reaches behind him to grab his staff. "I-I gotta do something! Hold on tight!"

But Gladion, in his squirming mess, holds out a hand as if to halt him. Even in this critical state – feeling his bones being crushed under the rock-firm grip of this creature, his muscles swelling in response to the aggression, his blood pumping in his head and his sight darkening around the edges, pain, _pain, pain_ – he remembers Faba's teachings, the lessons in independence, how he must take care of things on his own.

So, when he talks, it's Faba's soul speaking through him. "Don't get any closer! I don't need your help!"

His breathing falters and Hau still looks ready to blast against this creature, but the monster suddenly coughs out, yells as something attacks him and causes its grip to loosen just enough for Gladion to grab his sword and stab the claw's thumb, causing it to abruptly let go of its captive. With the mastery that years of training had bestowed on him, he leaps on top of the creature's hand and takes out his sword.

He tries to make out the aspect of his enemy. Red eyes glow, growling menacingly and sneering in the dark, but before Gladion can utter a question, the creature screams again and throws him away to the bridge, the claws miraculously not hurting him any further.

Gladion rolls along the bridge's length and gets on his feet, one hand touching the wood as his boots grind to a halt right before a gap in the bridge's wood structure. Hau is rushing to him, a question about to drop from his lips before the blond gets up and sees the cloud from within growing larger. "We're leaving!"

All it takes for Hau to react is a tremendous thud from inside the tower and the claws grasping at the doors to close them– something, a being, matter or something that neither of them can distinguish is dragging the creature back to the tower, and the doors close with a loud slam of dust and broken metal that causes the bridge under them to tremble, and before long, the ends of the bridge are coming down with the rattle and trembling of wood crashing down to the water.

Hau and Gladion begin running, skipping over the gaps in the structure and jumping to safe and sound ground, their bodies a crumbled mess and panting mess as they watch the last vestiges of the bridge disappear into the pit full of whirling waters, and all they can do is pant and squirm to their feet.

"What… what the hell was that!?" asks Hau, panting, still on the ground while Gladion winces and discovers that his legs are sore, and that his right forearm is beginning to swell. His sword is chipped and has a prominent bend on the blade. He can't fight like this, and Hau notices it too, much to his chagrin. "Dude, your sword…"

"It's fine. I just need to take it to–" a hiss of pain, "the blacksmith."

Situation under control, he nods and looks again at the tower, which is now eerily silent. "What was that? And Moon wanted us to come here? We could've gotten out asses whooped real bad!"

That begs a very important question– had Moon really wanted to come here? She had not directly mentioned wanting to come here, as far as he remembers, but if she's been here before, then she for sure knows about this place. And, at the same time, Gladion would expect for her to come for the sake of, as always, driving him insane and trying to get herself killed.

"I bet she would have enjoyed it, but… yeah, it's weird she would take us here. The dark chi here, is overpowering, too," Gladion says in disbelief, glancing around him. "And the runes we saw earlier... I wonder if she knows anything about all of this."

Because the thought of Moon not knowing anything about this is… _suspicious_. And too surprising to be true. She's always had more knowledge about the region than him, so a zone this dark flying right above her radar is not likely. He wants to think she didn't know about this surplus of dark chi in the area, but…

"Do you think she actually had a reason not to come, other than that weird pricey mission she found?" Hau asks, his face a pale grimace of misunderstanding. He clearly does not enjoy the thought of Moon being a suspicious individual, but Gladion is not keen in being lenient either.

"All I know is that we are here and she isn't." Gladion begins to walk away from the tower, his back a bit hunched as he bites back the throbbing pain in his arm. "I don't know if she's aware of everything we have seen, but she for sure didn't warn us about all this."

"Man, that's weird," says Hau between gritted teeth. "Moon would've had a blast going against the monster that got you."

That last comment wounds his pride particularly, and his shoulders become even tenser as he mumbles under his breath. "Knowing her, she will want to come here to tackle that beast and I'm not going to babysit her if she gets hurt."

In a way, Gladion knows that's not exactly true. As the skilled professional he is, Moon's potential has been demonstrated to him several times and he knows she's a talented fighter. For the sake of his own pride, he usually does not think about this, but he's aware of it.

But he knows she's the most reckless brat in existence and he can't trust her to not drag him into an unwanted battle again.

He really can't stand that woman.

"Let's go back to camp," Gladion mutters, earning a nod from Hau as he catches up with him. "We can ask Moon about all this later. I get the feeling there's something going on here that we don't understand yet."

There is something in Bleakdross that is heavy and dark, humid and hidden. The darkness lurking at every corner and the fiends that have taken over the zone seem to conceal a secret; the engraved runes on the ground and the monster bound to that tower scream of something they cannot see just yet. But Gladion cannot think about that now: he needs to get his sword fixed, and his arm checked by a medic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love world-building and I love Bleakdross because it's literally a spooky weird place where things are gonna happen it's THE HAUNTED PLAINS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
> 
> There's so much subtle plot packed into this that it baffles me. Bleakdross is a very important and spooky place so you better remember this place /taps forehead with hammer (((I can't wait to get to arc 2)))
> 
> So somebody did something bad in this place and now everything is made of dark chi? And Moon knows about this? Hmmmmm
> 
> ["The Emperor's gotten eager and paranoid about another Dark Realm situation happening. No need for another Karee situation again, as he puts it."] -HMMMM Keep these words in your back pocket because this will come back 1000000% and it's important but let's continue
> 
> [So, when he talks, it's Faba's soul speaking through him. "Don't get any closer! I don't need your help!"] - y I K E S somebody has some Faults to deal with m'bOY
> 
> Next chapter is gonna focus on our Dear Moon the Assassin
> 
> It's the Big Chapter of this arc and things are about to get really really messy and interesting and dangerous so I hope everyone is ready for it : )


	10. Good Girl Reloaded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moon lands her first major kill on the wrong fish of the wrong barrel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: graphic violence will ensue in this chapter; more specifically, a scene of particular violence. Nothing too drastic, but still worth the warning.

Moon has no coins on her. That's a universal statement. In fact, Moon not having any money goes along with her existence, much like people in Gemstone Village have a wild passion for tea and Gladion has his uneven bangs.

It chases her.

Being broke is like second nature for her, only a tourist on a mission in the dry land of Reikyuu, where the poor thrives from stealing the riches and from attacking the weaker prey.

But Moon is a woman on a mission. Moon needs to get herself dolled up for that flashy Kandrus Ambassador, as they will for sure not take a filthy woman as an escort. She might be close to broke, but not only would tonight fix that poverty, but she's pig-headed, so much so she's still stubbornly looking for a fitting dress among the bazaars in the corners of Reikyuu.

It's all sand and buildings of clay, cement, and concrete. Everything is in shambles to one degree or another, windows open and heat burning so hard everywhere around her is wavy with the soaring temperatures. She's heard somewhere that it's a heatwave that usually gets better during the night, but it for sure doesn't help her current predicament.

And what doesn't help either is the lingering memory of Acerola, who might have been a mirage caused by heat and exhaustion, but she remains in her head. Almost a wicked memory. Purple hair, gray eyes and a very creepy smile, clear as day.

So why had she disappeared so suddenly? Moon can't understand. All her life she's thought she had everything under control but she had probably seen a ghost – or maybe not – and now not everything is so clear anymore. A scent like food, like flowers, like elegant meals and tea drank at the park. That's the only thing that makes the memory true.

And just as Moon is thinking of how pleasant a cup of cold tea would be, she spots a bazaar selling what appears to be a very pretty dress. It's red and too offensive to the eyes color-wise, traced by leaves of golden strings and capped with leather black shoulders.

It has a daring gap for her right leg to sneak out, maybe a bit too daring to crash a party: it's _perfect_.

So, Moon goes up to the counter – drags herself, almost unconscious under the heat everyone seems so accustomed to – and makes a question. "Excuse me, kind sir," she musters her usual smile, but it's a bit flatter to feign cordiality, "how much does that beautiful dress cost?"

She stays at her best behavior. Moon had promised Gladion to behave and she's not one to make promises so easily, but it's also in her interest to stay well-behaved if she wants to get her money from the mission. After all, no Ambassador would want a girl who would kill for a few pennies, right?

All she has to do is pretend.

She has to be polite.

But then, the guy has to speak. "It would cost a big sack of coins for a woman as beautiful as you," he says, the woman he refers to huffing for air, hair disheveled and skin glistening with sweat. The definition of beauty. "I would say 300 coins would be a fair price, wouldn't you say?"

Moon turns heel and walks away with haste, running from the offer like it's a jinx from the devil. The man calls out for her but she refuses to turn back lest she will be conned into buying the garment.

The dress might be pretty but she's not going to splurge on a little gorgeous dress. She's got necessities: a bed, water, possibly a new set of daggers, and new shoes. Moon is a simple woman, or she likes to consider herself one, and simple women don't spend all their money.

Unless– _No_. Moon slaps her own cheeks gently. She cannot pull that off. Even when the dress is for a very important operation that would solve all her economical problems. Thinking about it as just that, an investment, would make the transaction easier, but she literally has a few coins and an apple.

Maybe he would take the apple for its worth. But not even that would amount to the abysmal price.

This leads her to what she had _not _intended to do: a side stealth mission.

She would steal the dress.

The rest of the bazaar definitely doesn't have the arrange of dresses she would like, nor seems to have lower prices. And she hates to admit that she's also a rather whimsical individual, and that dress is pretty enough for her to wear it for one night and not feel like some delicate princess from those old tales.

The thought truly makes her want to turn around and puke but that's not what she's there for. She needs a dress. And she won't leave that street without a dress, so she gets her knives ready and sneakily jumps into one of the shambled buildings. Upon a few hours of tourism, she had found out that most buildings are not inhabited and have holes to access a lot of hidden areas of the town.

Time to put that to the test.

Moon jumps into one of the buildings and slips into another. She finds one kid or two there, greets them amicably and they greet back, alarmingly and seemingly used to such disruption of their peace. Sooner than later, Moon reaches the back of the seller's stand, where red wood with a small door greets her in the dim sunlight entering the room.

A ring, the sudden chatter of people around as the break for merchants begins. The seller stretches his arms and yawns, clearly ready for a nap before the door to his house slams open and two arms tackle him from behind, dragging him inside as Moon tactfully puts her arms around the seller's neck and puts him to sleep at a record time.

When the door clicks shut, the man drops unconscious before Moon at her feet, and she crouches to check if he's actually asleep. "Sorry, I don't like being so crass but I _really _need that dress." A grin that meets no eyes stretches across her features. "Good night, buddy."

Moon peeps from the door that gives a view to the street she had stood on a few minutes prior. There is almost nobody there, and the gentle smell of onions and a nice spice fill the air– it's lunch break. It's sometime in the early afternoon when she finally reaches out and snatches the dress, only dropping a single coin in its stead.

She tucks the dress into her backpack and the smell of onions lingers under her nose. She could maybe grab some lunch for herself, too.

Dress down, make-up to go.

Now, Moon isn't that much of a fan of make-up. Used to being full of mud and dressed in rags, being clean is her definition of being presentable. She's never really attended any of these galas but she's read enough to know how it works, and she needs make-up. Her level of life, almost hermit-like, never allowed for her to doll herself up.

So she looks for some sort of salon. Those she's seen in the big towns she's been in. But all she finds is the opportunistic sight of a woman leaving a certain building, too elegant to not come from such salon.

When she goes past the threshold, three women greet her. There's nobody else in the single room, there's a chair, a sink and a big suitcase that screams posh products and floral perfumes. They greet her and Moon becomes tense but greets them all the same.

The tallest one approaches her, blond hair pulled up into a bun with a needle poking through, wearing a black kimono. "Good afternoon! What brings you to our humble salon?"

"_This…_ is a _salon_?" asks Moon.

Another woman with the same bun but brunette hair and deeply tanned skin responds from the sink. "Yeah. We are traveling artists, they call us the Beauty Wardens." The name rings a bell in Moon's head, but she doesn't associate them with any image in particular. "We heard there would be a very important party here tonight, so we are offering make-up for free."

The word _free _instantly makes her eyes light up in a very telling manner. "For free?"

"Yup! We can make you look like the fanciest of dolls with the flick of our fingers." The same woman approaches her too and offers her a hand. "The name's Olivia. My friend here is Cynthia, and the girl back there is Dawn. She's sort of learning the ropes."

The three of them bow to Moon politely, and the other responds with one of her own. A dash of cinnamon wafts under her nose. She assumes it must be because of the several perfumes scattered on the tables. "Nice to meet you." She walks deeper into the salon with a growing grin. "I didn't know I'd be so lucky to get a makeover for free!"

"We like traveling, and we have plenty of money to survive." Olivia gently leads her to the chair, where a ray of sunshine hits. It's not too harsh, but it's not dim either. It's just right. "And I'm guessing you're attending that party thrown for the higher-ups, aren't you?"

This is the first and only time Moon feels the slightest of bashfulness. She's never been treated this… privately, this personally. Her traits have always been reduced to her ability to fight and survive, never her looks and her charm; but this is much more personal. There's attention on her as a human and as a person rather than two knives with two hands attached to them.

"I… yeah! I'm gonna crash the party." Her confidence makes the three women laugh, who immediately take off the ragged, dull red beanie off her head and take a look at her hair. "I haven't ever gotten one of these so… it should be interesting, I guess."

"We can tell," says Cynthia, not unkindly per se, but it makes Moon flinch just a little. "You look like a rather hardcore traveler."

The accent in her voice reminds her of Gladion and Moon is instantly reminded of her companions, who she hopes are not screwing up in Bleakdross. A stressed sigh escapes her. "Yeah. And I'm dealing with a pair of idiots right now who can't live without me. I don't have time to look pretty."

"Every woman has a pretty tiger inside of them," says Olivia, cupping Moon's heart-shaped face, tilting it in analysis. "You just gotta know how to take that side out. And we got the right tools for that."

Quick orders are given, and the girl called Dawn goes around grabbing impressively specific products. Moon is instantly distracted, however, as she sees that Cynthia has a long, thin sword under her long black coat, just as Olivia has another under her pink one and a blade is peeking from under Dawn's black coat.

These women are not only beauty maidens. They are also warriors, just like her. For some odd reason, Moon feels more at ease knowing this, and as curious as she is to ask, she's suddenly distracted by the click of a small chest being opened.

"We will give you a pretty hairdo, you can keep the hairpin we'll give you, too." Hands are fumbling with her short hair and pulling it up with an ease that not even Moon herself could ever muster. "We need to do something about your face, though."

Feeling her tresses being pulled at gently, she bites back a groan of unexpected pleasure. "What do you mean?"

"Darling, you are _pale_. Dead, I-haven't-seen-the-sun-in-months pale. And your hair color isn't really helping your case, so we need to either make you porcelain-cute pale or do something about the color," explains Olivia cheekily. "Your skin is also so, so dry."

"It's still fairly cute, though," says Dawn sincerely, peeking from over Cynthia's shoulder. The latter agrees with a nod and a pale blush adorns Moon's cheeks, not used to all this flattery and feeling a bit weird about it. In fact, she for some reason is overcome with a desire to run, so much attention on her all at once. "And she has round eyes."

"True." Olivia clicks her tongue and cups her chin. "What do you want exactly, darling? We can't give you a fabulous makeover without you being comfortable."

"I mean… I haven't worn make-up. Ever."

"We'll be your first, then." Olivia turns to her workmates. "Let's be light with her. Some eyeshadow, blush, and a good powerful lipstick."

Moon is only aware of what those are because the names give away their areas of application, so she guesses they will be giving her an intense makeover. She has no idea what to expect but if the goal is to make her an elegant little doll, she will embrace the change. It will only be one night and she's already taken the dress, so she can't back off now.

Unbelievingly for her, she's still through the whole ordeal. Brushes on her eyelids, a big one on the apples of her cheeks (which Cynthia comments are very full for someone of her complexion) and then, a bar of a threateningly intense red is being uncapped. She feels unnaturally startled by the rich color, and wonders if that's the standard of her current appearance because if that's the case she must look like one _cute _but _jazzy _doll.

Her eyes flutter open. She swears they feel heavier even when they only have a light layer of eyeshadow on. Cynthia chuckles at Moon's apprehensive posture. "It's okay. We're just testing a theory out."

And as Olivia had told her several times throughout the session, make-up can be removed just as easily as it's applied. They had been there for a long while– in fact, it's nighttime already, and the party is scheduled to begin in an hour or so. Her hair is done and it's not touching her neck anymore, which feels very foreign, just like the notion that she can't rub her eyes in any case or scenario, as Dawn had pointed out. It's an unknown ground Moon has never played on.

The creamy lipstick goes on easy against her lips as Dawn applies it and it leaves an oily residue on her lips that she's tempted to lick away. "Don't lick it," says Cynthia along with a nod from Olivia. "The feeling will wear off soon."

Moon is eternally thankful they are giving her all these tips. Used to her instincts and instant reactions to everything, she never thought she'd have to be this patient and actually _restrain _herself. Whenever something would make her uncomfortable she could just remove it, scratch it away or wash it off. This sense of vanity is very new to her.

And as Dawn pulls away, she's got a big smile on her face. Olivia and Cynthia pull close to see as well, and their eyes widen, but not in distaste; in fact, they look amazed. With the three of them around her, the scent of cinnamon from earlier has only become stronger.

Cynthia smiles. "Olivia, you were right. I'm so sorry I doubted you."

"It's fine, dear," she giggles to herself. "Told you she would rock the red."

Moon brings a hesitant hand to her hair in doubt, and Dawn hurries to push a mirror to her side.

The sight before her renders her speechless. It doesn't look like her, at all, but it also _does_. She knows it's her because her skin is still pale and her clothes belie the look she's trying to achieve– but then there is a light red shadow on her eyelids, almost like a light dust, then there's a natural blush on her cheekbones and red, vibrant lipstick that makes her lips stand out in a nature that brings her to an almost luscious light. It's insane.

Her hair is pulled into a naturally unkempt but somewhat elegant bun, two needles with rubies pushing through the bun. It's by far the prettiest thing she has on her right now. "This… I look _so _different."

"It's the power of make-up," says Olivia with her hands on her hips. "Not bad, huh?"

If it's bad or not, that's still up for the Ambassador and his guests to decide, but she definitely looks… girly. Not in a bad way. It's different, but she has no expertise to rate their work. Moon does like the lipstick, even as bold as it is. "It's weird." And then, she smiles. "But not a bad kinda weird. I bet I'll drive all the bad men away just with my own eyes."

Cynthia crosses her arms and smiles appreciatively at their customer. The blade of her sword clinks with the belt of her warden uniform.

"Now, that's what I call confidence."

* * *

When Moon walks into Reikyuu's Mirage Hotel, she feels like the make-up and dress are more of a shield rather than an aesthetic weapon. The dress is so shiny people are drawn to her instantly, and her make-up accentuates her best features, which are, according to Olivia, 'those eyes and lips of yours'. The heels she wears (borrowed from Dawn) are not as uncomfortable as she had expected, but they're a bit of a hassle to walk with.

At least she has her backpack with her, so that's one thing she has to pull her down to Earth and away from the mist of opulence all around her.

It's a very different aquarium to swim in, and where she would feel like a shark she now feels like a little goldfish. People are dressed up just like her, and as she walks around, she also sees more of those guys with the black and golden robes from a day ago. Their expressions have a silver of evil in them that she doesn't like, but now is not the time for interrogations as much as she's curious about any evil she finds.

Moon considers herself to be tidy: if she's headed to a sack of money, she won't be stopping for other reasons. Most of her motivations have to do with money to finance her _big _objectives, so there's a bit of roundaboutness in her tidy methods.

She had been told that the withholder of the mission is a man with a gray beard and glasses, who _definitely _isn't hard to find in a party full of old people and elegant crowds. There's music somewhere to her right and the amount of people suffocates her. It's like those allegations about the weather getting better were a damned lie.

However, luck is by her side. A man meeting that description stands idly by the grand staircase that leads to the dormitories, holding a glass of wine and looking around in search of a woman– and his eyebrows rise when he sees a sultry Moon sauntering his way, her bravado all but a façade but the foolish man is relieved to see her nonetheless.

Moon holds out the paper of the mission but she's tempted not to do so because the stuffy state of the party doesn't foretell any improvements for the mission. "I'm the escort your Lord asked for. I told a kind and handsome" she almost gags at this "guard about my intent to come here. Hopefully, you were notified."

One good thing about traveling with Gladion is that she knows how to put up a posh awful accent. Cynthia had served as the last hearing to memorize the wave in the sentences, the intonation, the raspy ends of some words that she is now drawling in an almost seductive manner. She feels fake and a bit dirty doing things like this, but her innocent intonation sells her lie beautifully.

"Yes, of course! I wasn't expecting a lady this gorgeous, forgive my surprise." His eyes drag from her eyes to her neck, to her chest, her legs and as Moon sneakily pulls one leg out of the slit of her dress, she clears her throat.

"I'm terribly interested in talking with your Lord. I'm sure he has so many things to talk about." And she smiles kindly at the end, sweetly, artificially and without any enjoyment. The structure of her dress helps hide away the tension in her body. "I hope I will be enough for him. I would not want to disappoint him."

The assistant (or so she believes him to be) nods and gestures at the stairs, and Moon takes the cue to follow along. She's aware of his eyes on her and the attention, again, makes her nervous. As foreign as the feeling is, she doesn't know how to get rid of it. "Well, I'm sure your… _physique _will please the Lord greatly."

"My _physique_?" Moon knows what she's here for but a part of her is forcing itself to think that he will not want _that _regardless. Even if she's been making plans in that field.

"The Lord is a very powerful man in the Kandrus Empire, and he is… busy. He has no time to appease his sexual needs, so he seeks for some relief in that department," his eyes scan her again, "which we hope you will provide."

"Oh, but of course. I am well-versed in that field." A too wordy response to be genuine, but the man buys it anyway and doesn't seem to make much of it and lets the topic drop.

It is then that Moon realizes that she's anything but well-versed. She's badly-versed. The aspects of intimate relationships have always escaped her, mostly due to her hermit lifestyle and her lack of interest in settling down. Nobody has ever been interesting enough to stick to, so she doesn't understand where the fancy of sex is. Romanticism has always flown over her head like a paper plane.

So she decides that, much like every battle, she must do what she does best: improvise. She will make of her little goldfish persona a shark– or, rather, make of that man a goldfish. But then she remembers her deal with Gladion and curses that man for making everything so unnecessarily difficult.

She's led to double doors in a hallway, jars of roses at either side of the doorway. The assistant stops her for a short second. "The Lord has… peculiar tastes. Be patient with him, and please leave as soon as he falls asleep. As handsome as he is, he does not wish to have a concubine now."

Handsome, huh? As much of a scumbag as this guy must be – he's an authority, after all, and Moon has a strong opinion about those – maybe things will be more tolerable if he's pleasing to look at.

With a last nod, the man knocks on the door twice, then bids her farewell and leaves Moon at her demise. She gulps, then puts her hands on the double doors and pushes them open, then walks into the room very quietly and slowly, carrying her innocent persona with grace and solitude.

A gruff voice rings out around her. "I'm guessing you are the girl my assistant hired for tonight, right?"

Moon turns her eyes to a man she's never seen before, maroon long hair and eyes that aren't as wrinkly as one would expect, bulky on the right places– but her eyes are immediately pulled to a wisp of golden behind the man, and what she sees are stacks on top of stacks of bars of gold.

Raw wealth. Her eyes sparkle, and the man walks up to her while she's distracted, and he must think it's him she's drooling for as he snickers and smirks at her. "Not used to seeing something as beautiful as me, girlie?"

That snaps her out of her reverie and she very gently steers her eyes to him, visibly not as interested anymore, but she lies through her teeth and puts on a sweet smile. Moon slowly drops her backpack in the hallway. "Yes, of course. A man of your caliber can only have a face as handsome as yours."

And a stomach as big as his. She can see the generous shape of a beer belly under the layers of clothing. That's what happens when you give more orders than you hunt for your own enemies, she thinks.

He chuckles and walks away from her. "I like you, definitely. Come sit with me here– I think we'll hit off just fine."

As they sit, Moon takes the role of servant as soon as she sees a jar of wine on the pristine glass table. The room is decorated with golden and silver, curtains of silk and plants from countries she's sure come from other countries. The floor, marbled and polished, clicks under her heels as she stands up and offers him a cup. "Would you want some wine?"

He gives her his cup, and she pours the rich liquid on the glass. The fruity fermented smell permeates the air around them, instantly reminding her of the party under their feet, still raging. She does not serve herself a glass out of caution, and sits right by his side with her hands on her lap, far enough for them not to touch but close enough for her to give a false impression she's interested.

She turns to him. "Please, my Lord, tell me about yourself. I have heard so many stories about your adventures, I would want to hear them from the hero himself."

"That's right. All those stories in the streets– they are right." She isn't sure what he means but he's kind enough to grossly elaborate. "Massacring those stupid kids in the Pongii Ponds, us taking the Jaguar Farmlands from those scummy Aedus spawns, me battling single-handedly that prick of a king they used to have… all true." A sip from his glass as he waits for her reaction. "And I was promoted for that."

Moon couldn't be less impressed by that. She must be close to half his age and she's done double what he has– but she brings fear to take her features, open eyes and parted lips, all innocent and apparently amusing him, as he takes pleasure in that fear with a growing smirk.

What an asshole. "You are so great, that sounds so, _so _fierce." Moon's voice lowers an octave but is still visibly shaken up. Her feeding his ego will make things easier, she's sure of it. "I don't think I have ever been to the Aedus Empire."

She has, but only briefly and on the coast, so it's only half a lie. It lies close enough for her to visit sometime, only a stone throw across the Soakedge Strait, but she's never been that interested.

The man by her side scowls and growls. "They are a bunch of bastards, taking our lands with manipulation and lies, and… we're sure they have tampered with dark chi, but we don't have enough proof of that." A tch. Another sip, longer this time. "That damn woman. They are too powerful."

His eyes are distant, suddenly, as if he's looking at something she can't see just yet. It's like all the vicious fires in his eyes have been consumed by a fire, fixed on a point of his past rather than the present.

The glass isn't half empty before he's handing it to her to fill it up again, which she does in silence, letting him do the talking. "Continue, please."

"I don't have that much to say about them. They are simply terrible people." His eyes are on her again, teeth showing from under his lips. "I'm this nation's last resource. There's so much shit to do the Emperor will one day get a _coup d'etat _and he won't notice until it's too late."

"Oh, that sounds problematic," she comments.

"I couldn't care less," he responds, and scoots closer to her. Moon's first instinct is to pull away, but she doesn't, hidden fingers clutching the cushions of the sofa under her. His voice is a whisper now. "We have power. I'll defeat all of them."

A hand on her thigh. Rubbing the fabric and feeling for her skin under the thin fabric. Moon is instantly uncomfortable and her body actually reacts in response, but his hand's grip on her leg is too strong to notice that reaction. She gulps and puts up a fake smile. "I rely on you. You are so, _so _powerful, my Lord."

The name she uses makes his eyes widen and delight sparkles in those dark eyes of his, causing her great pleasure. Finding weak spots and then exploiting them is her expertise. A power-junkie is what he is and that's the point she will saturate for her own purposes. To prove her point further, he whispers, "I am. And we have powerful allies with us."

She feels an arm draped around her half-way on the back of the sofa. The hairs at the back of her neck stand at attention, all her senses alerted. "And who would that be?"

"The Blackring marauders, of course." Moon's eyes widen and it's like the glass has cracked. "They are stupid and easy to manipulate. We have them eating from our hands now."

"The… Blackring?" Her confusion can be easily interpreted as fear and the same effect of sickening pleasure appears in his eyes. God, she hates that, and the more time that passes, the more she hates this guy as a whole. "But the Blackring is dangerous, aren't they?"

"Of course they are." His fingertips graze the shape of her inner thigh and Moon wants to _scream_. Is intimate affection or whatever this is supposed to make her blood boil and make her want to run away? "But they got some power. And we could easily suppress them if we wanted to."

He leans close to her. His lips are brushing her ear. "And they are good to keep the citizens under check. Some terror… it's not that bad to keep all those losers afraid of authority."

Authority. Terror. Citizens. Something within her churns at that and when his lips enclose on the gap between her neck and her ear, that _something _she can't pinpoint springs into action without her consent.

"I really doubt that."

That half-assed kiss is broken by stupor as he stares at her in disbelief. "The fuck do you mean by that?"

"Suppressing the Blackring is not that easy, I believe. Even for someone as powerful as you." But when she catches herself it's too late, because the Ambassador is frowning, snarling and she scrambles to pick up the last shambles of her act. "I mean… I just wouldn't want you to get hurt, my Lord."

But unbeknownst to her, this man has been trained to pick up those mistakes in people's behavior. he's a high-rank soldier thanks to his abilities and when he sees Moon is no longer responding to his needs and saying things so horrid and wounding for his ego, he snaps. "I'm getting tired of you. I was planning to take it easy with you, but we're gonna try to discover tonight if that rumor that angry sex is the best sex is true."

And he ungracefully grabs her arm, yanks her off the couch and leads her to the bed with the lack of delicacy a man as lazy and disgraceful as him would exercise. Moon, just like him, is getting impatient: not only is she supposed to be with him all night, but also let him live when he's a corrupt scumbag feeding on the pain of others?

Moon has never had the strongest sense of justice – if she has ever had _any _– but it's now awoken, burning with anger and smug anger she's never felt before.

So, when he throws her to the bed and is about to strip her down, Moon manages to pull him down to the mattress, straddling him and giving him a naughty smirk, as if promising him a good time. "Don't get ahead of yourself, my _Lord_. I have been told to provide and…" Her index slowly drags down his chest, and she enjoys watching his expression melt into a groan. "I'm a very obedient girl."

That's when she feels _it_. The shift in the ambiance, the change of tone, how he's relaxing and how he's expecting her to go further and a smirk of power curling that bliss into conceited smugness.

She reaches for something at her back. "I knew we would reach an agreement. You can't keep denying you Lor–"

Blood. So, so much blood.

It soaks her clothes, her face and her neck as her dagger digs into his throat with surgeon precision, her face no longer innocent as she licks her lips and relishes in the agony that has twisted its way into his face. Her blade meets resistance from his muscles and blood sprays the more he moves, making a mess all over her.

"Geez, you could at least stop wiggling– you're getting my dress all dirty and it costed me money." Rolling her eyes back as he squirms, she shakes her head with a chuckle, giving him a grin. "Well, not really! But I will for sure pay it back with all the money you got back there, you spineless piece of _shit_."

And even as she swears and makes him angrier and more desperate to get out of her deadly lock, she smiles and grins and twists the knife to end his misery, giving his throat another slice before his life is cut short altogether. Blood soaks the sheets, part of the ceiling and has stained a portrait above them on the bed.

As if he was still alive, she pets his head and withdraws her knife. "Don't make a fool out of yourself next time. And definitely don't take advantage of other people for your stupid goals. As a companion of mine says often: you're just being ridiculous!"

Remembering Gladion in a moment like this is uncanny, to say the least, and thinking that Hau would be beating the shit out of her for killing an innocent and that actually _Gladion _would beat her even harder for causing trouble makes her grimace as she stuffs stacks of gold into her backpack.

The windows out of the suite are open, and one of Reikyuu's watchtowers stands at a jumping distance– for her, at least. One foot on the windowsill, she turns back to the body and hears people coming. "Whoops. Looks like your minions are coming. Have fun in hell, loser!"

And like that, Moon is gone with the wind, springing off the ceiling of the watchtower and taking to the Sandlands, disappearing into the night.

And when the Kandrus officials storm into the room after being told screams have been heard, the assistant can only mutter one thing before fainting.

"That woman killed the Ambassador of the Kandrus Empire!" A sigh. A tumble. Guards hurry to catch him among the scrambling and the calls for help from the fretting guards. "And she must pay with her own blood! That woman is a _traitor_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moon: /is an assassin who kills people  
Gladion: can u please stop being an assassin for once  
Moon: ok  
Moon: oh
> 
> and I oop 
> 
> This is the exact chapter where you realize that the story was going in a very nice direction but suddenly Moon has an entire Empire against her on her heels and Gladion is going to be _so_ pissed about it. Hau might be mildly bothered or maybe not who knows. I definitely don't.
> 
> I wonder how this will affect the entire plot of the entire story and if this will come back later and if we just witnessed the birth of one of the most important plotpoints in the entire series.
> 
> :)
> 
> I wonder


	11. Dead Or Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion and Hau adapt to their new status as possible fugitives. Gladion is regretting every step that led to this point.

The moment Gladion and Hau come back from the Bleakdross Incursion after a day of training, they see the camping site has become a mess. Even in the dim lights of the placement, they can see clear ruckus among them and how everything is a hot _mess_.

In fact, Gladion isn't sure if that's the same camping site anymore, as the noise and alarm and havoc taking over the tents and soldiers makes the place entirely foreign.

They are screaming about a traitor and mutiny but he couldn't be less bothered by it. Hau and Gladion had finished their training for now and are only back to the camping site to get their backpacks and rest; but seeing how everything is untidy and Gladion can't stand the noisiness of the soldiers around him, they are only bound to stay for a short while.

"We can sleep in the Jaguar Farmlands," offers Hau while Gladion puts on his backpack, seeing him nod. "I have heard there's real good food there. And they make these real good sweets, too! And I love sweets!"

Why is it that Gladion isn't surprised? If he recalls correctly, Hau has been eating pretty sugary foods, like a slice of cake and bread with something white on top. He's seen that topping on bakeries in Ludwig Town, and is all sugar with water and more sugar.

"I don't mind. It would be good to sleep on a bed for a change, I guess."

"Yup! My back is sort of sore lately, I'd love that too. People there are super nice, I think, so I bet they'll give us a bed to sleep in," he says, grinning to himself. "You also gotta get your blade fixed, right?"

Gladion takes a close look at it. The little dents along the edge have not gotten better overnight as he had foolishly hoped, and the bend on it has not gotten any straighter either. Upon some cold analysis he had concluded that the bend had occurred while taking his sword out of that monster's claw and that in his haste, he had done it the wrong way.

As much as he likes to blame himself and let guilt fester within him freely, the situation had been dangerous. Too dangerous. He's lucky to be alive, of that much he's aware. If anybody had been in that situation he would have considered them dead, be it Hau, be it Moon, be it whoever.

Well, not Moon. She would probably survive that and much more.

Gladion groans faintly. He needs to stop using her as a standard of comparison, especially if he's set on catching up with her skill-wise.

"You two!" They are called by a guard coming their way. His eyes express alarm, and his body shakes in unison to that feeling. "Have you heard the news? There's a dangerous criminal on the loose!"

Hau arches an eyebrow of skepticism. "A criminal? How is that any news?"

As much as Gladion hates that reality, he agrees. "Is it a Blackring criminal, or something?"

"We don't have all the details yet, sadly. I'm just here to tell you kids to look out for any suspicious folks on your way out of here," he explains, gesturing around him where all that exists is the background chime of business and chaos. "We just know it's a woman. Very sneaky woman. She killed someone of great importance in the Empire and we have been commanded to catch her dead or alive."

The words woman, sneaky and _kill _make Gladion instantly tense up and think the worst. The world stops around him abruptly, leaving only the guard and Hau beside him, the latter seemingly frozen up as well at the implication. The guard has been called, however, and bids them goodbye to let them absorb the news, as he mistakenly sees fear in their eyes.

Hau turns to him slowly. "Dude… it can't be, right?"

He considers this reality. Lets it sink in, swallows it and feels a heavy uncomfortable feeling on his chest.

His breathing quickens, the possibility of such tremendous hinder on their toes causing something to settle on his lungs. Before long,

he's clutching his left hand and gritting his teeth. The image of a snickering, grinning Moon haunts him.

But he trashes the idea. Gladion walks forward, a bit more tense than before. "I sure hope it isn't."

* * *

Their arrival at the Shongshu Watchpoint is quicker than the departure had been. They are driven by the mad cause of finding out who this criminal could be – whilst being very aware that said criminal could spring on them at any point in their path.

And that said criminal could have a familiar face and smile.

It takes them less than a day to get to the watchpoint. Everything is exactly like they left it not even a week ago: tall trees, birds, rocks and a humid temperature sticking to their bones. They are tired, they are exhausted, but the sight of guards sticking bulletins to the bark of the trees and scrambling around in constant vigilance puts them at attention again.

They go up the long staircase to the top of the longest watchpoints in silence, both well aware that any attempt of small chat would be drowned out by the angry thumping of steps above on the platform.

Hau takes hesitant steps into the watchpoint and raises a hand. "Uh… excuse me? What's going on?"

One guard luckily hears him and approaches them, holding an old paper in his hand.

"We're going after this young lady. Dark hair, short hair." Something twitches within Gladion and he almost screams in exasperation because he should have known that whatever trouble was around, it had to be because of her. "The Advisor drew a picture of her. Please, excuse his very passable skills; he was terribly enraged by this act. We are waiting for further information on this woman's features to hunt her down, but maybe you two have seen her."

Hau and Gladion, tense as sticks and very aware that they could be accomplices of an Empire-wide crime, lean closer to the brownish paper. The drawing is, just as they had been told, scribbled and very rough. It's almost more expressive than what an actual Moon would be like, but there's no doubt that such hair, eyes, and snarky smile belong to the one and only assassin Moon.

Hau leans back very sharply and not at all inconspicuously, which sparks irritation within Gladion as he leans back too. "We haven't seen such a lady. She sounds very dangerous, yikes!"

Screaming wouldn't make his tale any truer– if anything, he sounds ridiculously suspicious now, trembling and his Adam's apple bobbing as he speaks. It's safe to assume he's sweating bullets at the mere accusation of a crime, which shows how little experience Hau truly has had in life. Not like Gladion is that experienced either, but he at least fakes it better.

Gladion doesn't even know what she could have done to enrage a whole empire, for he hadn't even bothered to ask what she was out to do in that mission of hers, which, in hindsight, he should have done. Moon is the most irresponsible person in this realm and the next, and of course, her first solo mission had ended horribly.

If Gladion knew where she was, he would be very tempted to rat on her and laugh at her expense, but he sadly does not know where she is. Even without such knowledge, he does want to take her to jail.

Clearing his throat, Gladion shakes his head in agreement. "We have _not_ seen her, indeed. She sounds dangerous."

"A knife to the Ambassador's throat! She's more than dangerous!"

_God fucking damn it_.

"Ah, that's… unfortunate." Hau's voice quivers at the end, and he gulps at the unwelcome image. The thought of committing such a gruesome crime doesn't bode well with any of the two. "Does anyone know where she could have run off to?"

"We suspect she must be off to the west of the Dominion, but she can't have gotten that far. I mean, who would cross the entire territory in less than two days? It's ridiculous!"

_Moon _could. Gladion would believe this easily. He does, actually. If there's anyone in this world capable of running through an entire Dominion before news of her assassination could escalate, that's her. The one and only impossible Moon, who will be likely murdered by Gladion's sword in the days to come.

Why is it he's not impressed by all of this? He should have seen it coming, that's for sure. "I can imagine how much damage that… _brat _must have done to the empire."

Hau bites back a grin at his use of words, but the guard finds nothing funny in his statement. "Truly! She has made a wound far too deep for us to forgive! Wherever she is, we will find her and make her grovel before our Emperor."

"Grovel?" asks Hau with pure amusement in the guard's passionate speech. "You will only make her grovel? Then it can't have been that bad, right?"

Gladion wishes he could smack stupidity away from some people, but he's content grumbling some incoherent strings of profanity against his anger-shaking hand as the guard answers. "A groveling position is the most adequate for head cutting."

The two travelers feel a cold shudder run down their backs, but only Gladion solves it with a cough and by running his fingers through his fringe. Hau doesn't look content either; his posture screams tension and he's constantly gulping down and tugging at the collar of his shirt.

"I-Is such a crime that bad?" asks Hau again, more hopeful and innocent.

"Of course! She has killed a high-ranking soldier without thinking twice! She is a traitor to the whole Dominion, she must pay with blood!"

Gladion lets out a small "_Fuck_" into his hand, muddled by his fingers as they tremble in agitation. His eyebrow shakes and he turns around and excuses himself curtly, saying that he's got something to consult with the tent at the center. Hau nods slowly and watches him leave, lips a thin line of tension. "Your friend must be concerned by this crime."

"Oh!" Hau turns again, expression cheery once more. "Yeah, he's a bit of a worrywart, we don't wanna get caught by some vicious woman trying to get our money! That wouldn't be cool!"

Somewhere behind him, Hau hears a loud thud and rustling, but he pays it no mind. "I hope young people like you stay bright and alert. We wouldn't want the body count to go higher up. We're unsure if the Emissary was the only target."

"Hopefully it was!" But he realizes his mistake quickly and corrects himself, grimacing at his own lack of tact. "I mean, it was _really _bad someone in the military was killed off like this! I hope no more people are murdered, too."

"We will make sure the citizens of the Kandrus Empire are protected," he claims, folding his arms. "And we will not withstand any traitors in our Dominion. We have not become such a great empire by allowing criminals to run amok as they please. The weight of justice will crush them dead."

Soon enough, Hau hears steps in his direction, light but decided. The guard bids him farewell and retires to let Gladion walk to his spot, where the latter gives Hau a tired glance. In his hand, he holds a small envelope with a pair of bumps poking through the paper. "What's that?"

Surprisingly for Hau, Gladion is immediately ripping the seams of the envelope and taking out a round pill, so small it can only qualify as that. Had it been bigger and Hau would have thought it was a bean. A questioning glint in his eyes makes the blond aware that he's about to ask _why _he has those.

Like instinct, he responds to the silent question. "I… don't do well with these situations. And let's leave it at that."

Hau reaches out as Gladion begins to walk away. "Dude, you–"

"_Yeah_ I'm sure," but he does _not_ sound sure. As he throws his backpack to the wooden floor, he looks tired, more than he ever has in the past days. Unscrewing a bottle of water, Gladion looks out to the landscape. "Let's rest for an hour or so and get going. Did that guy tell you anything else?"

"Ah… yeah." Hau tries to gather his usual happy smile, but seeing Gladion – someone he'd like to call a friend by now – so tense makes him tense, too, somehow. And the thought of Moon being a wanted criminal – somebody he, too, likes to call a friend – puts even more weight on his shoulders. "They don't know if she's a serial killer, and they're planning to go hard on her."

_Great_. "Exactly what we needed." With that, he runs his hands through his hair once more stressfully. His left hand is shaking in what Hau interprets as irritation. He's known him long enough to know he's not one to worry that much about Moon. Hau is increasingly curious about what ties them together if there's no care for one another.

His next words are a distressed whisper, but there's a light spark in his voice that betrays certain curiosity. "Moon is such a daredevil."

"She _is_." Hau chuckles, sitting by Gladion. "But I bet it must have been badass. She ain't one to hold back, but… that sounded hardcore if all they said is true. Maybe something happened?"

"Yeah, _she_ happened." Gladion can feel a headache bubbling again.

"No, I mean, maybe somethin' _else _happened," the other explains, earning the blond's attention. "I don't know Moon that well, but I don't understand why she'd kill off someone as important as that for no reason."

"You clearly don't know her. She will stab anyone behind their backs for a quick buck." Sighing, Gladion leans back and looks at the sky. "Maybe not us, but anyone else? Nobody is safe from her. I have seen that first-hand."

"Oh, really?" Gladion nods. "Like what?"

"We once raided a Blackring dungeon and she went hard on them for no reason. She was _obsessed _with going in there for a small treasure. I still don't get it." A pause. He gives his own words some thought. "She has some sort of grudge against the Blackring that goes beyond money, I think– if not, I don't understand why she's so hellbent on chasing after them."

Hau opens his backpack and takes out, unsurprisingly, a ball of bread covered in sugar. Gladion grimaces at the overly sugary treat. "Do you think they did something to her?"

"I don't know her well enough to be interested, but it could be the case. Or it could be just the money, I'm not sure." The clouds slowly glide across the sky above them. It's almost within reach, them so high and the earth so far below. "She did mention that she has business with them, but I'm not sure what exactly. She's a total stray bullet."

Hau turns to him. "How did you two actually meet, exactly? You were kinda disagreeing last time we talked 'bout it."

It is now that Gladion realizes that he's talking. A _lot_. It's not like him to give speeches this long or explanations this elaborated, or to care as much to actually think about said explanations, and he doesn't know if it's Hau's natural talent to reel information out of him or if there has been an abrupt change within him.

His mind goes to Moon momentarily, the mess of nerves, grins and now a wanted criminal.

"She attacked the wagon I was traveling in," he says, being curt and clear. A frown of irritation crowns his eyes. "I'm just stuck with her, it seems. She won't get out of my hair."

And as Hau dissolves into more talking, more questions, and more one-sided laughter, Gladion finds that if his current surprise with himself is Moon's doing, he's got one more thing to secretly thank her for.

(Something he will never say, because the change is small enough to only be noticed by him, and Moon doesn't deserve his gratefulness after breaking their promise.)

(And she's a criminal. Fuck.)

* * *

It is in the next hour after resting that Hau and Gladion are ready to go. They settle on going west as the guards had indicated Moon had fled in that direction, but they are now wrapped in a hushed discussion as to where she could have exactly gone to.

Moon is a fidgety individual and has hot feet– whereas cold feet would make one scared, she flies with the wind and strikes ahead recklessly. Moon can't have planned ahead and she's probably running around while heading in a particular direction.

At least, Gladion is sure of that, explaining this to Hau, who shakes his head.

"Dude, Moon might be quick but she ain't _that _quick," Hau says a bit too loudly, but there's no need to conceal her name anymore– she's a wanted face with no name, after all. "Not even a pigeon can get there _that_ quickly."

"We don't know at what hour she took off from Reikyuu. We could ask, but I doubt they will have any information yet, and I don't feel like talking to them, either," he says, hand on his side and another on his hip as he talks.

"What is there to the west?"

"Gemstone Village, the Everspring Woods and…" his eyes widen. "Altaria Bay."

Hau detects a shift in his tone as though that location is important. In fact, Gladion has a twitch tugging at his lips, barely appreciable, and he's murmuring something under his breath. "Altaria Bay? What's wrong with that place?"

_Of_ _course _Moon would be headed there. Exactly where they had been headed to before this mess. She calls herself a genius but she must be planning something stupid again– but he needs a source to prove her whereabouts.

Knowing Moon, she could have gone _anywhere _but where she's expected to be.

Close to the big tent for the guards, there's a lady with a white dress. He saw her last time they came to the Shongshu Watchpoint, and she's usually looking over the ones in need of doctor's attention. When she sees Gladion approaching, Hau close behind, she looks up from her book and regards them in askance.

"Excuse me," Gladion begins, "I believe a companion of ours must have been here a bit ago. We agreed to meet here, but she's not here anymore, and I thought she might have told you where she was headed to."

Hau seems to realize the obvious: Moon had indeed agreed to meet in this exact place, but she's not here– obviously, because she's running away from the Kandrus soldiers (very possibly the whole Empire), but that also gives them a great leeway for ask for her whereabouts.

"A friend?" Gladion doesn't nod, but Hau does. "What does she look like? Many people drop names here every day, too, so a name would also be useful."

"Her name is Moon," as he says her name, it's irritatingly and nearly a grunt. "She must be wearing rags. Brown, yellow, green," he says, careful not to give out those details described in the bulletin looking for her.

Luckily, the woman remembers her right away. "Ah, yes. A young lady. She wouldn't stop moving and she seemed in a hurry, she barely stopped here to rest before taking off."

Hau and Gladion share a look. Yes, that sounds like her one hundred percent. Gladion nods. "Yeah, that sounds like her. Did she tell you where she was headed to?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you that."

The two warriors are taken aback by this revelation, Hau more so than Gladion, at least at a physical level. "What? Why not!? We're just asking for directions!"

"Do you think I don't know that she's a criminal on the run? _Please_, I might be on watch duty but I'm also a Kandrus employee, and I cannot let her friends join her and cause more trouble for everyone." They are even more surprised she's been found out, but it's a question why this woman didn't rat her out.

Before they can ask, the woman takes out a solid lingot of gold and slams it on the small table in front of her. The noise startles them both and the table trembles under the threatening thud. "She gave me this, and I promised to keep quiet."

"But… didn't she tell you to tell us where we are?" asks Hau.

"She only told me where she would be and paid for my silence. She never said a thing about you two other than her whereabouts."

Which translates into Moon not having paid for that extension of the bribery. Gladion is about to sigh and step back to think of a strategy, but Hau speaks up with a concerned gaze on the lingot. "That ain't true gold, though."

Both the woman and Gladion look at him with wide eyes, but she's the one to speak. "What!? What do you mean!?"

"You got a small piece of metal glued to the lingot." Hau takes it gingerly and points to the little piece, and as he peels it, he's met with resistance. "Gold shouldn't have a magnetic pull. This is probably an alloy made to look like gold, but it ain't gold. It's probably steel, just by how heavy this is."

The blond beside him is speechless by this exchange. Even him with his book-based knowledge didn't know that. "How… do you know that?"

Hau crosses his arms behind his head, grinning. "Dude, I'm a sorcerer! We gotta know stuff about crystals and minerals. They're pricey things, so we gotta make sure we don't get conned in specialized markets." Then, he turns to the lady again, who is testing his theory with wide eyes. "But yeah, I'm afraid that one's fake. It's just counterfeit crap."

The word counterfeit brings an idea to Gladion's mind, and he turns to his companion sharply. "Do you mean it's illegal?"

Something in Gladion's eyes – a little frown, eyes a bit wide, meaningful thoughts under the color of green – brings him to follow along, so he does with a not so true nod. "Yeah, you could say that. You could get arrested for having fake gold in your hands."

Hesitation in his words, the blond is sure Hau has never told a single lie in his life. It would be charming if they didn't need to lie for their own good. "Illegal? Then I must get rid of this!"

A vibe within Gladion activates like a switch. He leans forward a little, pulls up his hands on his hips and looks at her with a professional glare of intention, one he's seen Faba use when he means business. If there is one thing that man has taught him of use, this would be the only one of them. "Well, if you tell us about our mate's location, we can get rid of it."

And he's met with rejection. "You fool! Why would I do such a thing? What will I get out of this, other than getting this stuff off my hands?"

"Not only will we get rid of this burden, but," he rummages through his right pocket and takes out a nugget of gold, one he had found in his dungeon exploring with Moon that fateful day. "I will give you an actual nugget of gold. You can make a test if you wish, but it's real gold."

The woman snatches the little piece from his hands and presses it against the piece of metal that once stuck to the fake gold, but nothing happens. She looks at the shiny little piece and arches an eyebrow. "You guys just want to know where that girl went? What are you going to do there?"

Gladion sighs. "That's something we don't know ourselves, but yeah, that's all we want to know."

A pause. The woman leans back on her seat, crosses her legs and regards them with suspicion in her eyes, like a cat eyes a rat.

Then, a sigh blows past her lips. "She went to Altaria Bay," she says as she plays with the nugget between her fingers. "And she said you better hurry up or she'll begin without you, whatever that means– I didn't want to know."

That's when they part, not even bothering with a thank you or a farewell. Pouting, Hau turns to Gladion, crossing his arms. His companion seems to be in thought again. "Okay, dude, can you explain what's up with that place? I don't like being left in the dark, y'know!"

Gladion turns to him again, a hand under his chin. "It's a small town on the coast of the Everspring Woods. It's all sailors, restaurants and festivals," he explains, eyes to his side in thought. "I have never been there, but Moon and I were originally headed there before we met you. We just happened to encounter a few too many marauders and I convinced her not to chance it."

Her being there makes a lot of sense, even more so now that it's been confirmed. He figures she must be half-way there by now. "But what is she doing there now, then?"

He voices his hypothesis out. "She must be well past Gemstone Village, knowing how fast she is. The Blackring must have left the place by now." His eyebrows sink even further. "Now that I think about it, we didn't see any Blackring pirates in Bleakdross. I wonder where they went…"

"Maybe they got scared of us! Or they might have just left when we arrived." But that does nothing to get Gladion out of his reverie. "So I guess we'll be going to Altaria Bay now? What for, though?"

He thinks about mentioning the 'contractually obliged to be peaceful' part he overheard about the Blackring's relationship with the Kandrus Dominion, but he discards it for now. "She had told me there is a Blackring Outpost somewhere to the north. Altaria Bay is heavily watched by the Blackring, too, but it will be a good place to rest. We will be headed to the Outpost next, though I don't know what she wants to do there."

"Then let's get going! We don't wanna keep the lady waitin' for too long, right?" Against his own nature and beliefs and wishes to trash her for going against their promise, he nods and opens his backpack to keep the bar of metal, which makes Hau remember something. "Also, did you just trade gold for a bar of _steel_?"

"You said it _was _steel, right?" he asks, and Hau nods eagerly. "Believe it or not, this much steel has as much worth as that little piece of gold. It depends on the market, but we will get more money out of this than that. She was just fooled by the shine of the piece."

Grimacing, Hau gulps. "Dude, you _conned _her."

"For the better good." Descending down the stairs, he closes the cover of his backpack and sighs. "I don't enjoy scamming people, but I know some tricks to get around."

Indeed Faba had taught him something useful, and he's not proud of it. Anything he has in his personality related to Faba needs to crash and burn. The possibility of becoming as narcissistic and self-aggrandizing as that guy makes him shiver, no matter how much food and shelter he had given him. Now that he's older, he's well aware that nothing about that shelter and food – as Moon and her brunch had proven – had been ideal.

But looking around him, boundless and free as he is, things might change. He can make use of his education and get through his new life with relative ease. Hau still seems spooked and a bit guilty, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of scamming someone– even if it had not been a proper scam. Gladion – and Faba – would have made the scam much more perfect and elegant.

And just as he catches himself thinking _that_, he realizes that shaking the strings of his godfather's hands off his body will be harder than he had anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guard: this woman with black short hair who could literally be anyone committed a terrible crime.  
Gladion: oh my _GOD_ MOON
> 
> Yes your boy is taking pills because he doesn't like the situation they're in but he's lenient about listening to her side and he's thinking about her reasoning bc he's becoming mildly interested in his peers HE'S HALFWAY INTO DEVELOPMENT AND HE'S GETTING ALONG WITH HAU but just sit back because this is all about him bonding with Hau
> 
> And tbh people are usually more lenient about each other's faults when they're away bc they aren't like _there_ but if Gladbag's taking pills imagine how internally enraged he must be
> 
> it doesn't look like it because she's not there and he's learning to relax a little
> 
> but just wait til they get to Altaria Bay LMAO she'll die


	12. Attachment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion discovers a new part of Hau's personality he had never seen coming and makes a new friend that might as well be a future enemy.

It's somewhat ironic that they make it to Gemstone Village during nighttime, exactly at the time he and Moon had left. It should feel like he's taking steps back in his progress, going back to the beginning, but his companion is new and he feels a certain soreness in his legs– he's definitely been busy lately.

And as Faba used to say, being busy always means progress. And progress means growth.

He really should stop thinking of that man now that he's gone from his life.

"So," starts Hau as they stride down the slope into Gemstone Village, "where are you gonna sell that?"

He's looking around when he asks this, probably in a fashion similar to Moon's when she had first arrived with him to the village. "What?"

The other turns and nods with a grin. "Yeah! That bar of steel you took from that woman. We could sell it somewhere and sleep somewhere tonight."

The implication of him and Hau sleeping in the same building doesn't bother him as much as it would have some time ago. He and Moon had been in the same situation but, while she had found somewhere to stay on her own and he hadn't needed to push her away, he _knows _he would have done so at the time. Thinking back, it would have been childish to push her away like that just at the notion of sharing the same _building_.

In his defense, he had just wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. What he didn't know at the time was that Moon is capable of climbing mountains and walking on fire just to piss him off. And now, look at him, walking across a whole Dominion to find her.

God, _that woman_.

"That sounds alright to me, but I doubt there will be anybody awake at this time." Looking up, they find the moon to be high up in the dark sky, stars twinkling. There's not a single cloud in the sky. "We should sign up in a hostal for the night."

But Hau is busy with something else and has scrambled further down the slope, leaning and sniffing soundly around him like a dog looking for food. "Dude, what's that smell?"

Gladion tries to search for that smell but he finds nothing; that is, until he remembers what the first day had been like. "Tea, maybe? I might have gotten used to it, hence why I can't smell it."

The sorcerer turns with an even wider smile than before, if possible. "It smells amazing! Where does it come from? I would _die _for some food now, dude. I finished my malasada earlier and I'm _starving_!"

Bewilderment overtakes his features, knitting his eyebrows. "Mala… what?"

"Malasadas! They are like, the best. I don't exactly know what they are made of but– wait, you've never tried one?" Hau rushes to him so quick Gladion almost takes a step back. "They're the best thing ever! You can't have lived for…"

His voice comes as a slow stammer. "...21 years."

"Yeah! You can't have lived for 21 years without trying one of those. I can't believe you. They're a traditional product of this Dominion!" Gladion still has no clue what he's talking about, and remains silent to let Hau do all the talking. The man (the boy? He looks younger than Gladion, but not by that much) shakes his head. "They are like pastry filled with cream with lots of sugar on top! It's _so _sweet!"

Gladion is not that familiar with sweets– he doesn't despise them, but he has a certain aversion to them. He's more used to salty treats, or maybe spice if the occasion calls for it. Faba had fed him an obscene amount of galettes when he was younger and had probably caused the worst episode of acne in recent memory.

"It doesn't sound that… appetizing to me. Sounds like diabetes in a bun." Hau's head falls a bit in dismay, and Gladion looks around, dismissing the topic. "Anyway, I'm going to get a room in the hostal back there." He points behind him, at the building wherein he had stayed last time. "There is a tea shop down the merchant street if you're so hungry. It might be open. I'm going to bed now."

Gladion is turning heel to the restaurant but Hau quickly grabs his shoulder. "Dude, you gotta eat something! You can't go to bed without a hearty dinner, Gladbag!"

A vein in his forehead pops up, eyebrow twitching. "That's not my name."

"Whatever!" Hau lets go of him, probably aware that Gladion could and _would _chop his arm off. "You should eat something. What about–"

"I'll pass," responds Gladion dismissively with a hand, another in his pocket as he walks away again. "I appreciate my sleep more than my stomach, and we have things to do tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, you're right!" Hau nods once and turns to the direction of the tea shop. "What are we gonna do tomorrow, by the way? I guess we gotta sell that lingot and get some supplies, right?"

Without turning yet, Gladion nods, his hum the only signal of approval Hau can discern. "I hope to get enough money. I will be flat out broke tomorrow after sleeping in that hostal."

He hates being broke. The fact that he's constantly living solely on what he makes and isn't able to save at all is stressful– his wallet is thinner than a stick in winter. The most likely scenario is he will use his part from the lingot's worth to fix his blade and get a few snacks and he will be back to zero again.

Hau doesn't stay to hear Gladion sigh at his own economy, for he's turning and walking backward, hands in the air in glee. "Awesome! I'm gonna go grab something to eat in the tea shop, then! I hope it's not very pricey!"

Before Gladion can warn him that Gemstone Village is rather expensive and that he won't have money for much, Hau has taken off. As much as Gladion is not generally disgusted by Hau's company, at least Moon would know where to go and how things work in most places. She would probably still go and spend all her money recklessly but she would know what she's doing.

He thinks about this as he walks to the hostal. Moon and Hau are alarmingly similar, but also _so _different. They are equally cheerful, but where Moon is downright annoying and a walking headache, Hau is more relaxed and laid-back. His energy is more bearable than Moon's, so that's why he's lasted with that guy for so long without complaining; but Hau shows a very concerning naïvety that Moon certainly lacks, and he's much slower than Moon would ever dream of being.

He's not sure if he prefers going at breakneck speed and crushing his bones or walking at a pace so leisured he will grow white hair. Gladion really is on the fence, but he supposes it will be naturally fixed as the days pass.

Gladion sometimes misses Moon's expertise. Just enough for it to be reasonable in his head.

* * *

* * *

It turns out Hau had been able to afford a small meal in the tea shop and would use the rest of his money for breakfast. He had argued that he doesn't need any money for repairs and that, while he eats a lot – as Gladion had tactfully pointed out – he can run on a big meal for one entire day.

Gladion had at first been skeptical until they got their breakfasts and watched with utter disbelief how Hau feasted on an entire pot of eggs and meat on his own. The owner of the shop, Taeyong, looks at the scene almost fondly as she gives Gladion his small cup of tea. "He is such a great eater. Moon wasn't this eager last time, that's for sure."

In Moon's defense, it'd be hard to be as eager as Hau, and it's impossible to tear his eyes from the gross scene for some reason he can't logically explain. "He… just appreciates good cuisine to a high level."

Hau raises his head from the pot of food to grin at the woman. "Yup! I need lots of energy today, we're gonna go very far!"

"Aw, traveling again?" asks Taeyong, and Gladion nods as he blows on his hot tea. "That's a shame. But I'm guessing this has to do with that quest your friend asked for last time?"

Moon being referred to as his _friend _irks him more than it should, but he doesn't address it. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there are no more Blackring bandits harassing kids for money here, so I assume they moved elsewhere." Hands on her hips, she smiles fondly. "I thought you and your friend would be chasing after them, but it turns out you brought somebody else along!"

That makes sense in his head. Though it's rather shocking that the source of trouble had been located within a cave of easy access and nobody had bothered doing anything about it. Perhaps the marauders had been scared shitless by Moon and him– another reasonable point of view.

Hau isn't listening anymore so Gladion lets himself sigh. "Hau was… more of an accidental companion. A collateral effect to all this trouble, if you will."

The woman laughs at this, a hand on her lips, but Gladion doesn't find it funny. "He's a very lively guy. Not as much as _she _was, but he looks like good company too," she comments. Gladion has no answer, so he simply sips from his lukewarm tea. "What are you guys up to now?"

Hau has his mouth full until he swallows whatever he has inside. Gladion swears he sees his throat bulge. "We're gonna buy some things and I guess take it easy! We're headed to Altaria Bay so we got a _long _way to go."

"Altaria Bay?" Hau nods. "That's a pretty dangerous place. I have heard it's mostly pirates living there, now, but it's kinda peaceful this season. You better watch out, though, I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt just because some mean pirates gave you the nasty eye."

Gladion knows this and he's still damning Moon's clever but dangerous choice of location. "We will be okay. It's not like we're novices." Taeyong nods in response. He leaves his cup of tea on its plate. It's the same flavor she had let them try last time he was here. "Speaking of, do you know where the blacksmith of this town lives?"

"Yeah. Do you know the portals led by the maidens up the hill, close to the village's west exit? There is a hostal right beside that. The blacksmith should be working there at this hour."

That's exactly where he's staying, so that's conventionally close. "Thank you."

"Why do you ask?"

"We need to pay him a visit– or at least _I _do." His Silvally is precariously perched on his hip, as it won't fit in its scabbard anymore. "The blade of my sword is bent, so I need to have that fixed. I will probably need a new blade done or else I won't fight properly. I hope it's not too expensive, knowing how prices high are here."

Taeyong's eyes light up, and she smiles at them kindly. "Please, don't worry about that! Gemstone Village can't charge one of their heroes like that. Tell Joe you're staying with me– he will do it for free. He knows me very well."

Hau has stopped munching on his breakfast and Gladion is looking at her with wide eyes, staggering to answer. "I-I'm sorry, Miss, but we can't allow that. Something a big as working on a new blade is strenuous work. It wouldn't be fair."

"Oh, please, Joe has been working on things much bigger than that. He's as old as time, he has been a blacksmith for as long as he can remember. Rumor has it he held a hammer when he was three years old and hit a nail so hard he made a hole on the wall." That sounds terrifying but Taeyong smiles regardless. "He's a great guy. Doing something as little as that is whistle work for him!"

Gladion is polite but he's not stupid. He's being offered a bargain – more than that, it's a _blessing _– and he can't keep rejecting it for that long. She's looking at him with a face that makes him believe she won't stop insisting. "Then… that would be amazing. Thank you very much, Miss."

Taeyong is turning to leave. "You're very welcome! Enjoy the breakfast for now, you two, and don't hesitate to come by again." She stops herself half-track, though. "Wait, you know my name, right?"

"Taeyong, isn't it?"

The owner gives him a firm nod. "That's right, mister!"

And that brings a memory to his head. "Wait." As he scrambles to articulate his question, Taeyong waits patiently by the table. "Do you make curry rice here?"

"Of course! Every Friday! And I make the _best _curry rice, let me tell you!" she beams, hands on her hips as she shows her pride. "It's creamy and a bit spicy, everything nice and good! I don't think you would want that for breakfast, right?"

Gladion lets out a rare huffed chuckle. "Not me, but maybe the pitless stomach man here would."

Hau lets out a noise between offense and laughter that is muddled by chewing and the mixing of food. Taeyong nods and stifles a giggle. "It's a pleasure seeing him eat, really, but I have more tables to attend. Please, enjoy your meal here!"

Gladion mutters a farewell and Hau finally lets down his plate to look at his companion. "What was that with the curry rice about? You don't want rice this early, don'tcha?"

"Of course not."

His mind goes back to the night of their departure, thoughtful, tracing the edge of his cup. The breeze of the night, Moon's voice beside him and the wisp of curry behind them in a way too blatant and too _true _to just be a figment of their imagination. She had noticed it, too, and the accuracy of her comment afterward couldn't have been just a casualty. Perhaps it had been a lucky breeze carrying the smell, but… he's sure he had felt something behind them.

"It's nothing," Gladion says in the end, sipping from his porcelain teacup. "Just thinking, that's all."

* * *

It is by sheer luck that they don't stumble with the blacksmith while he's busy. Gladion had always found the blacksmith of Ludwig Town to be too busy to attend him at times, but the one in Gemstone Village has a few to no customers when they arrive. It might have to do with the fact that Gemstone Village is not exactly full of able warriors, but the man is not busy and that's what matters.

That doesn't prevent the guy from halting them as they are about to approach. "You two don't look like citizens of Gemstone Village at all."

Hau is surprised by this blunt statement, even more so because it looks like a problem. "Huh? You can tell?"

"Kid, nobody in here has that sort of hair." He points at Hau's dreadlocks in a ponytail, and then at Gladion. "And what the hell is wrong with your fringe? No capable styler would have done that to your hair. Also, that's _too _bright. What are you, an angel?"

Gladion touches his fringe with feigned nonchalance. He knows his hairdo is… _peculiar_ at best, but he has his reasons to not change it and he will not explain them to this man. "Is our appearance a problem?"

"Not if you got money to spare. I don't work for free."

The swordmaster looks from his SIlvally to the man before him, who is sitting on a stump made of dark metal. He's wearing goggles too big for his face and a cap colored brown, then a shirt (either too old or too dirty with oil and grease) and a pair of short pants, then shoes scuffed with age. The hammer in his visibly calloused hands seems to fit right in his hand, as if the rumor Taeyong had told him was true.

Hau chirps up at this. "My friend comes from Taeyong's teahouse, actually. She says hello!"

"She told us to tell you we come from her," Gladion explains more precisely, a hand on his hip. "Taeyong mentioned you two were good friends. And that we should mention her name if we wanted to get… let's say a _substantial _discount if we came here."

At this, the blacksmith's posture visibly loosens and he lets out a bright laugh, more resembling of the personality Taeyong had described earlier. "She's more than a friend– she's like a daughter to me! If she told you two to come, it must have been for a reason, right?"

Gladion nods curtly. "I would like to have my sword looked at. I wouldn't mind getting a new blade if that's necessary."

He takes Silvally out of his belt and hands it to the blacksmith carefully, putting it on his awaiting hands. The man observes the sword with careful eyes, contemplating the work, the craft, and it's almost like he can see through the hours of work put into the weapon. His naked fingers caress the blade and feel the bumps on the metal after years of use.

"Your blade," he holds the sword out, eyeing it from up close, "has one hell of a bend. And some chips on the edge. What did you do to it?"

Gladion puts his hand under his chin as he tastes the sour memory of their escape. "I fought a big monster. It wouldn't let go of the blade, so I suppose I didn't handle it correctly."

"Surely you didn't." The sour wording makes it sound like an accusation, one that Gladion winces at. "It also see some chipping from this little ridge all the way to the point. How old is your sword?"

"Around five years old, sir."

"And you haven't changed the blade? Not even once?"

The blond shakes his head. "I have been taking good care of it."

A low whistle rings past his lips, clear admiration showing through the noise. "You have, kid. Most swordsmen change their blades once a year or so. You must care for this a lot." Gladion nods curtly enough for his evident care not to show through too intensely. "Did you forget to change it? Or are you fond of the blade?"

"A… mixture of both." he's ashamed of admitting his forgetfulness but even more so his unusual fondness to the metal. "This was my first sword, but as I said, I don't mind changing it if needed."

"I will definitely change the blade. There's no way I can fix it in any other way." His nod is solemn but understanding. Then, the blacksmith turns his head to the sorcerer and points at the staff that shows from behind Hau. "What about you, kid? Don't you wanna get that staff looked at?"

Hau flinches in surprise. "You can look over it?"

"No blacksmith would skip an opportunity to check something like that out." He points to himself. "I have also taken some lessons in magic objects and stuff, so I know a thing or two. You won't find many blacksmiths who know about this elsewhere, I'm sure o' that."

Gladion waits for Hau to react but, strangely enough, he actually shakes his head with a certain unease. "I… I don't think it will be necessary, sir. My staff's holding out just fine I'd say! Totally fine!"

But Gladion is sure that's not completely true. Hau had mentioned very informally that his staff was getting rusty and 'couldn't read his tattoo auras that well anymore', whatever that means. The way he has it strapped so well to his back and how he's seen him cleaning it very dedicatedly seems to betray an inner fondness for the object that Gladion doesn't understand.

It's not serving its purpose that well anymore. Why is he so fidgety about letting go of it? "Are you sure?" asks the blacksmith seriously, positioning Gladion's blade on top of his anvil.

"Yeah! I can hold out just fine for now, thank you!"

Gladion would like to comment, he's about to, but he doesn't in the end because it's not his business, so he focuses on what the blacksmith tells him instead. "I'll take out the blade of your sword and make a new one. I guess you'd want me to keep the handle, right?"

"I would like that."

"Then I will." Gladion nods in gratitude. "I will keep the same metal you have in this sword– forged steel, I see. Not bad at all."

The blond nods again. "Sounds good to me. I welcome any changes if they are needed."

The blacksmith chuckles. "Looking to take advantage of Taeyong's discount, aren't we?" Before Gladion can say anything else, the old man is looking at Hau again. "You seem pretty interested in that metallic staff."

The other yelps at his voice and takes a step back. "Sorry! I just thought they are pretty and–"

"Are you sure you don't wanna get a new one? If Taeyong sent you, I'm guessing you can also benefit from that sweet discount, if you are friends with this guy."

"I… really don't need it, it's really fine, sir!" He smiles now, grinning and putting his arms around his neck in a way Gladion has learned to identify as laid-back ease. "I can survive with my current staff!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!"

A voice chirps in from somewhere _above _them, and upon looking up Gladion and Hau discover a man sitting on the low roof of the blacksmith's house, looking at them with bright interest. "Who– what!? Who's that guy?"

"Woo, you are full of questions!" The mysterious man jumps down from the roof and to the patch of grass under their feet, Gladion's eyes wide and his mouth parted in shock. He had lived this far only encountering one jumpy grasshopper but it turns out there's _two _now. "The name's Kukui! It's nice to finally meet you, at least formally!"

The blacksmith, far from surprised, sighs. "You'll never get tired of hanging out in those places, won't you?"

"Heh, I like a challenge."

Kukui crosses his arms and looks at the men before him with a wide grin. A white coat is draped across his shoulders yet is not properly put on, the empty sleeves moving with the breeze. He's wearing an unbuttoned shirt underneath with golden and red colors, white pants and green shoes, his hair in a tight bun and his beard a bit long. He radiates maturity and wisdom that his words and behavior clearly don't back up.

Gladion is just speechless more people like Moon exist. He won't make it out alive at this rate. "We are–"

"Gladion and… Hau, right? I heard bits and pieces about you two." Gladion immediately assumes that's thanks to his feats in that dungeon with Moon, but he doesn't truly confirm that. "I'm happy to see you again! You look as healthy as an oak!"

That's when the blond catches on a very familiar smell. Spicy, sweet, oddly nice and hunger-inducing… "You are that guy!"

Hau turns to him and arches an eyebrow, as if implying Gladion has finally lost his mind. "What guy?"

"When Moon and I were leaving this place, somebody that reeked curry rice sprinted past us. It was very weird and I just couldn't take my mind off from that."

"Ooh, so that's why you asked Taeyong about it!" Hau grins and takes a step closer. "Dude, you totally smell like curry! How do you pull that off?"

Gladion is intrigued as to why smelling like curry on a daily basis would be a desirable thing. "I like curry rice! I guess it's a mystery," responds Kukui, a pinch mysterious, then he turns to Gladion. "I assume Moon must be that girl from before! She didn't even give me her name! I have already seen her, she sure is a lively girl!"

"You have talked to her?" asks Gladion, surprised.

"Yeah, for a while. She's the girl you were with that day, right?" Very much lamenting such fact, he nods. "She told me you guys would be coming by so, here I am!"

"Yeah but… who are you, exactly?" asks Hau, his lips a thin line as he inspects Kukui's garments. "You sure wear fancy stuff. Are you a professor? Maybe a monk? Could it be… that you're _both_?"

Kukui nonchalantly rubs a finger under his nose, chuckling at Hau's enthusiasm. "Heh, you could say I'm a bit of both. I belong to a rather tight group of friends, we're all scattered across all Dominions and stuff! They told me they have seen you fighting and they are super impressed."

The word _impressed _sounds like too high praise. All Gladion has done so far is beat the crap out of some bandits and run away from what could be a haunted legendary beast. Well, and participate in a wagon chase and potentially get an innocent merchant killed thanks to Moon's lack of… responsibility? Sanity?

Maybe he's referring to Hau, but Gladion finds that hard to believe– Hau doesn't have that much of a fighting fiber within him unless he's really pushed into it– which, in hindsight, should be the norm but Moon had to come in and flip his rules around like a jigsaw.

"So… watching us?" asks Gladion after what seems like ages. "What do you mean by that?"

A gravelly voice interrupts the conversation before it can continue. It's the blacksmith, waving at them with his hand. "If you're going to continue with your chat, do it somewhere else. I have customers waiting." He looks at Gladion and nods. "I'll have your blade done in a few hours. Probably will have it done before Taeyong's shop is closed."

Gladion nods and the three walk from the shop to a zone close to the lake in the center of the village. The waters are as clear and inviting as he remembers them, and he's tempted to sink his hands into them to test if they are as warm as they look like.

Kukui crosses his arms and advances until he is at the end of a wooden pier for fishermen. "Okay. I'm guessing you have questions, don't you?"

Gladion puts his hands on his hips, head tilted in annoyance as the mysterious man sits on a wooden stump of the pier. "Well, of course. What did you exactly mean by _watching _us? Have you been following me?"

"You sure are more curious than you make yourself to be."

Hau nods and grins. "Right? Gladbag's full of surprises."

Kukui mouths the nickname in amused disbelief and Gladion's scowl grows even further. "Don't let the disease spread, please." Beside him, Hau stifles a laugh in his hand.

"As I said earlier, my… friends are sorta everywhere, traveling and stuff. We've stumbled with your faces a couple of times. You guys are strong!" He gets no reaction out of them, but that only makes him more lively and interested in them, just as they are interested in him. "I'm so happy you guys are going against the Blackring head-on. This Dominion really needs a good ol' smack on the head."

Gladion isn't sure what he means by that but he's still very much suspicious of this man's behavior and vague explanations. "Why are you following us, though?"

And Kukui winks. "Now, that would be just rude to say. You want to know too much too soon."

The blond is starting to get visibly angry, as he clearly doesn't enjoy being played like this, but Hau steps in at the right time before Gladion can say something he might regret. "Why are you talking to us now, though? Do ya need anything?"

"Well, I don't _need _anything." Kukui gets up and puts his hands in his pockets. His eyes dart from one man to another, a small smile never leaving his face. "I was just thinking you two could use a pair of teachings from a monk-professor-whatever like me."

"A professor without a weapon?" asks Gladion, looking at Kukui with a mixture of residual disdain from earlier and genuine disinterest. "I can't be bothered to admit lessons from someone who doesn't carry a weapon."

Gladion had seen this the second he presented himself to them. He had looked too bare to be a professor or be serious in Gladion's books, so that might be why he's already skeptical about this man's business. Nobody without a weapon can do much in the world– they can't teach him anything he doesn't know already, and he's got other things to do.

And Hau would call him out for that mean comment but Kukui is laughing. Laughing _loudly_, in fact. "If you think all warriors have a weapon with them, you need more than one lesson. But I'm not offended."

Hau is the one to talk again, grimacing as he apparently realizes something that is escaping Gladion. "We actually can't stay for much longer. We got somewhere to be. That girl, Moon, is waiting for us and we gotta get there fast, ain't that right?"

This is the one and only time Gladion will thank Hau for being so quick to respond, and the blond nods. Kukui doesn't show any dismay at this– in fact, his smile grows, but just an inch.

"What a pity. But it's fine! You can drop by again when you got time– and you can bring Moon along, too! I bet she knows better than you two do." Whatever that last part means goes amiss for Gladion, who is watching Kukui walk backward until his heels are halfway out of the pier's ledge. "You know where to find me, so stay safe! We'll see each other again."

"Of course we will, if you and your friends continue following us."

Gladion's statement is hoarse with irritation, but Kukui waves it off. "You're right about that! But I guess we'll have to wait and see!"

He's waving at them informally, muttering a goodbye before he's chuckling and then falling _backward _into the shallow water of the lake, but when Hau reaches out to grab him so he doesn't fall, he realizes the professor is gone– no splashes, no presence under the glittering waters, no trace of him.

Gladion actually approaches the pier's ledge and is surprised to come to the same realization as Hau, eyes equally as wide. The sorcerer rubs the back of his neck. "Dude, what the hell was that?"

"I… honestly don't know."

It's the hundredth time he's been clueless but the feeling is new all the same. It might be because this world keeps surprising him, sometimes with people who are destined to send him to an early grave or the menacing threat of a pirate company looming over them.

But, somewhere in his heart, he knows he won't be alone facing that threat, and it feels like the fear of the unknown has been lessening day after day.

And Gladion guesses that all that's left to do is wait.

But for now, all he knows is that he will be getting to Moon soon and _boy _isn't he going to unleash some pent up anger with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gladion: I don't like you. You look unprofessional without a weapon. I think like this because I'm a very proud swordsman.  
Kukui: *laughs in foreshadowing plot*
> 
> this chapter was sponsored by Foreshadowing Faults and Bonding Through Having Breakfast in A Café + Random Kukui who May or May Not Be Important to the Story. btw I love Taeyong and the café it's so cozy and it ALWAYS makes me hungry. Next chapter is the good good one WE'RE FINALLY ARRIVING TO ALTARIA BAY which might be the best and prettiest place ever ;aaaa; I'm not ready. Gladion is rubbing his hands at the thought of telling Moon tf off bhgjgrskal
> 
> Kukui smells like a spice??? I wonder who else has a spicy scent to them hmmmmm


	13. Seagulls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion and Hau finally arrive at Altaria Bay to confront the monster they've been chasing after, and Gladion learns that not everything is what it seems when it comes to the ever so vexating Moon.

Altaria Bay is, in many ways, different than anything he's ever seen. Gladion has gone to the sea a fair amount of times with Faba for exploration purposes, with the latter being very hellbent on Gladion learning the many species of insects that live in the proximity of water masses. He remembers very little from back then, but he retains certain muscle memory for fishing and bug hunting– and the faraway memory of the glistening waters in the fresh morning of spring, pale sunlight glittering across the rippling sea.

This town is all sea and little folk. Piers make most of what the town is, everything riddled with boats that resemble homes, cafés floating on water and small cabins well into the actual seas. There are a few houses inland, all white and littered by sparkling green vines, but most of them are connected by piers and made of wood and hay. Precarious, yet beautiful.

Hau and Gladion step into Altaria Bay in the morning. Stairs made of stone and quartz lead the way to the pier, seagulls cooing in the sky and dotting the ground below them with shadows. Such an image is a total opposite of what they have seen of the Kandrus Empire thus far, like a backwater of peace and clean grounds.

Hau is hurrying down the steps, jumping from one step to another. Gladion, however, has stopped by to enjoy the morning breeze, eyes cast on the sea. "Dude, this is so pretty! Look at all that water!" Gladion's eyes flicker to his companion. "I bet there's great food here, too! I don't think I've ever been this close to the ocean!"

And Hau turns and runs down to what seems like the main street along the shore. Hints of salt and vegetation linger in the air, humid but pleasant. It feels like it's cleansing his lungs in an almost spiritual way. He basks in the sunlight, the sea's noises, the seagulls above him.

He hasn't been in a place this peaceful in a while. Not after he stopped going bug hunting with Faba, anyway.

"_Look! I caught a little grasshopper!"_

Faba would turn from his own hunting spot to regard Gladion's little hands with the same everlasting boring and almighty expression in his face. A mixture of a snarl, a frown, and a smirk. _"Ohoho, that's a very small bug, though. Couldn't you catch a better one?"_

And Gladion would look at his hands as all pride and joy drained from his face. _"It's so cute, though! And it took me ten minutes to get it!"_

"_Ten minutes for a creature this tiny? I taught you better than this, Gladion." _Faba would always, without fail, take out the same exact bug from his right pocket. _"See this beetle? It took me only two minutes to catch it, and I did it with my bare hands."_

Gladion would grow excited to see this and jump to take a closer look. _"That's so cool!"_

"_Cool? I would call it 'amazing', 'terribly talented' or 'exceptional', but your lexicon is pretty reduced. You young people are so insufferable." _And he would keep the crystallized bug in his lab coat again. _"Try again. We have many pages to fill– and don't disappoint me again, Gladion."_

"Yo, Gladion, you coming? I'm starving!"

Hau's voice breaks the memory into smithereens, and the image fades as the pang in his heart lessens and disappears. The sea glimmers under him, his body small even in the altitude of Altaria Bay's entrance. The ocean is like an open world before him, and he wonders if he will get to explore as much of it as he once wished in his innocent and younger years.

He calmly goes down the steps, and Hau resumes his shuffling down the stairs and along the bay.

They come across a plethora of small cafés and restaurants, paired with a pair of souvenir shops with all sorts of shells, ice creams and bottles full of colored sand. Hau has gone into a few at least once, but all he's bought is a pair of sunglasses, because "It's sunny today! I'm not gonna get my eyeballs burnt to a crisp!"

"That won't happen that easily."

"It can if I look into the water for too long!"

"Not unless you stare right into the sun."

But Gladion deems it to be a rather practical decision on his part, so he lets the issue go. If he wasn't aware of how ridiculous he would look with them on, he would buy a pair. Hau and the glasses look like siblings separated during birth.

The next thing they resort to doing is having breakfast. They had had a bit of food on their way to Altaria Bay, but a proper meal would be appreciated. Gladion still isn't half as fond of hearty meals like Hau is, but he's adjusting to his new diet– after all, he spends a lot of time walking so he needs a _lot _of energy.

They ask around to other tourists in the town for a nice place to eat in. Hau is in charge of asking and Gladion is the one to consider their options, much like a PR team. Overall, the general public agrees that the best place to eat in is the Birdsong Café, which happens to be the biggest cafeteria in Altaria Bay.

There are a lot of recommendations for sandwiches and pastries like crêpes and something called _sweet hearts_. All of it is grossly sweet enough for Hau to get excited and walk ahead of Gladion.

The Birdsong Café sits at the end of a pier on a big platform. There aren't many people there at this hour but the clamor of mugs and low chatter echoes from inside the café. A faint smell of brown sugar and butter mixed with the salt of the bay carries them along the pier and up the steps to the café.

In Gladion's head, the day is planned meticulously, even if they don't know their way around very well. For starters, they will have breakfast and talk about their plans to find Moon. They will ask people if a girl corresponding to Moon's features has been seen around, and luckily no news about her crime will have reached Altaria Bay yet. It's a round, full and seamless plan.

But then, they enter the café and _Moon _is sitting there, looking out the window until she turns her head to the chime of bells as they open the door, and has the brave audacity to _grin _and her shoulders shake in what seems to be a snicker– exactly as he had expected it. Bathed in the morning light and sparkles of sunlight, not even that makes her angelic or kind in his eyes.

Something within him surges at the image and not even Hau's murmuring for him to calm down prevent him from marching to her table and slamming his palm right in front of her toast. "Did you fucking lose your _mind_!?"

The plate shakes on the table and people turn around to look at them in questioning, and Hau's grin and waving hands success in deflecting the topic, Gladion's voice growing hushed.

Moon blinks at him slowly, then at her toast. "Look, I know you got a grudge against my toast and butter but you're just being a baby about it now! Learn to respect my tastebuds, Gladbag."

And she has the guts to joke about it.

He's certain she had anticipated his reaction just by how she had smiled so confidently at them like she knows she's done something bad but knows she's immune to his quips. Moon being above any consequence is a nightmare for him, but seeing how guards are chasing after her across the Dominion and how _he _and Hau will be chased as well, things seem to be changing– for worse, if possible.

He should have never agreed to work with her; in no time people will realize he has been traveling with a criminal and– and–

"You know that's not what I'm talking about!" Gladion grabs the wooden chair in front of her, drags it out. He sits down a bit too intensely. "We had an agreement that you would behave! Why did you think doing something so _atrocious _was a good idea!?"

Hau also sits down, yet a bit more slowly. Moon leans back on her seat, grinning. "It was lots of fun!"

"It wasn't lots of fun!" Gladion insists, his frown gathering clouds of anger in the middle. "The Kandrus Empire is looking for you– you're a _traitor_! They want you dead! And in no time, they will want _my _head too!"

Her mouth twists in what they think might be remorse, but the hum she lets out is too light-hearted to be serious. "I would like to see them try. They haven't caught me yet– so we're fine! They'll never catch us."

It is Hau's turn to be concerned, grimacing as he looks between his two companions. "It does look pretty bad, though. They wanna chop your head off." Oh, what a nice future that would be, Gladion thinks now. "And like, I agree it must have been badass–"

"_Don't compliment her_!"

"–but this is gonna get bad. Why did you do that, anyway?"

Moon throws her arms in the air, stretching them and pursing her lips to conceal a groan as her muscles tense, then relax. Her chair is slightly tilted back and, in his anger, Gladion is tempted to push it back further and let her break her neck. Albeit she looks superficially carefree, there is a distinct tension on her body that he's quite sure has not been there before.

When she speaks again, it's a whisper. "That dude from Kandrus is– _was _a corrupt bastard." Conflict in her eyes? Maybe a pinch of regret? He's not sure of what he's seeing right now. "I went there with my best intentions and tolerated his weird drinking issues and his _touching_. Trust me, I had the patience of a saint."

"Trust you?" Crossing his arms, he glares at her with doubt. "How can we trust you after you basically sold us out to the Empire?"

"I did it for the greater good." Her silver eyes have suddenly turned sincere, her mischievous grin gone for now. "Please, know there's something fishy going on with those guys. They even have a treaty with the Blackring and stuff– it's not _good_."

It's the _please _that sells it for him; Moon doesn't say _please_. Ever. She always gets what she wants by anything but sincerity, but this is the only time he's certain she's being serious, even when his brain is telling him not to trust her.

Hau is the only one to be surprised. "Yo, what? They got business going with the Blackring?"

Moon is about to answer but, much to her surprise, Gladion does. "Yeah. I heard some guards talking about it when they mentioned the Reikyuu guy was coming. And you know how they talked us down in Bleakdross, too."

"Yeah, they were… kinda rude. Except for that one guy– he was fine." Moon doesn't know what they are talking about but she's listening intently regardless. "What are we gonna do now, anyway? Even if they ain't that dangerous and all that, they can still kick our asses and I don't want more of that stuff for wounds on my skin."

Moon has a face that screams 'they wouldn't get me', but she doesn't voice that out loud. Gladion watches her disposition change slowly: her chair is now fully supported on the wooden floor of the café, her elbows are pressed on the table and her fingers are entwined against her mouth.

Her face is turned to them, but her eyes gaze at the sea beyond the windows of Birdsong Café; there's a silver of longing in her eyes.

"If the Kandrus Empire is after us, they won't take that much longer to track us down," she says tentatively, earning a curt annoyed nod from Gladion. Hau gulps at the prospect of being found and she can see in his eyes that he's both thrilled and regretful of ever having met her. A smile tugs at her lips. "And we're headed to the Blackring Outpost."

"We are," says Gladion, "At least that's what we agreed to. I'm not going to turn back and go anywhere else because we have literally crossed the Dominion to meet up."

Moon's smile grows and that's when he knows he shouldn't have said anything. "Aww, you're such a romantic gentleman, Gladbag."

Gladion's mouth twitches in annoyance and his frown only sinks deeper, watching her relish in the sole act of making his life a pain to live. She might be being earnest but she's still a demon and he regrets ever thinking he would be good with her again– there's no way he could have been that stupid to think this woman was any more bearable than before.

"In any case," she sighs out, still grinning. "We can't let the Kandrus Empire catch us, and we're headed to one of the Blackring's shipyards anyway. So," Gladion and Hau stare at her in interest and hold their breath, watching her look for the right words, "we're gonna go to the Outpost, get rid of the pirates there and, y'know, take a ship to run away."

It dawns on him that Moon doesn't only have a single brain cell left, but he also finds out that said brain cell is out to give him a heart attack. "From murder to theft? What amazing progress."

"Yeah… that sounds a bit too risky," agrees Hau, teeth gritted in discomfort with the thought of committing a crime.

"The plan would be to take a little ship from them and flee to the north. C'mon, it can't be that bad! They must have a lot of them, so it's not like they'll notice!" She gestures around her, sometimes at the sea, sometimes at them.

Gladion leans against the table even further, looking at her accusingly. "Do you really think an organization of pirates– the _biggest _one in the region, mind you, won't notice that they have had a ship set sail without any sort of planning?"

"Never said the plan was perfect, we gotta make it a bit more sophisticated and all that," she says, nonchalant to the bone about all his concerns. Gladion can feel another headache beginning to pound at the back of his head. "What matters is that we're gonna kill two birds with one stone! That's always good."

Great. That's just right. Moon wants to go from murdering a high-ranking soldier from an entire empire to making direct enemies in a pirate company by stealing one of their boats after taking out all of their bandits. At least before he could get away by telling himself that nobody would know of their raid on the enemy's base, but _theft_ is something they will eventually track down as well.

She's just an expert when it comes to making enemies. _Fantastic_.

"But… how are we gonna pull it off?" Gladion is already throwing him an incriminatory glance at him agreeing so quickly, and Hau catches it on the fly. "Dude, Moon's sorta right. I don't enjoy theft and stuff but we don't have many other options."

"Other than, you know, handing ourselves politely to them and hope they have mercy on us?"

The assassin snickers as she takes a bite of her now cold toast. "Have fun getting yourself killed, then."

The bait lingers in the air. There is a pause between them as Gladion contemplates his options and drums his fingers against the table, rummaging his brain for more options to try and reject this offer, but he hates to admit there's nothing else he can think of other than her idea.

He doesn't want to get killed. And he might find things of use for his investigation there. There's no way he's going to get himself caught and killed, or thrown to jail and have his journey stopped just because Moon was too reckless and idiotic to think twice, no matter how rightful her murder was. Giving up would not only let the suspicious Kandrus win, but it'd also mean letting _her _win.

And there's no way he's going to back off anymore.

"_Fine_." Hau and Moon grin to each other and share a high-five. "But if we're doing this, we won't be rushing in like some sort of headless chicken."

Moon puffs her cheeks. "That would have been great! They wouldn't have expected it!"

"Of course. A troop of around fifty pirates would definitely not see you coming. I would rather be jailed by the Kandrus rather than tortured by Blackring pirates, thank you very much." He sees her lean against her chair again. It's like she's accepting his opinion and relief settles within him. "We can think of something else."

"Yeah, but we don't have that much time either," comments Hau, looking around anxiously. "The Kandrus could reach us like, in no time at all. We don't know how far they've gotten."

"I'm guessing they'll reach Gemstone Village tomorrow, so I give them two days or so to reach Altaria Bay," estimates Moon, her face in an exaggerated pout of concentration. Then, she turns an arched eyebrow towards them. "Did you tell anybody there about where we were headed?"

Hau very carefully turns to Gladion, the latter crammed up and tense, mouth a thin like and suddenly needing a glass of water. Moon, very quickly reading his sudden change in expression – which he knows had been subtle, it had been more of an internal reaction that had burst a little on the outside – chuckles to herself. He should be relieved she's not angry, but the odd reaction makes him believe that, once more, she's not taking him seriously.

Why is she smiling at him like that? Why does the sun shine on her like she's a blessed being?

Moon catches his stare and laughs, then turns to Hau. "Well, I'm glad you guys made it here, I guess." A smile draws itself across her features, then her arms fall slack and her hands dig themselves into the pockets of her shorts, turning to look at the sea. "I'm curious about what we'll see when we get there. It's gonna be a lot of fun."

She smiles intensely like it's going to be the best day of her life– but it always seems like any day is the best of her life, her energy so infuriatingly intense he can barely keep up with her. And yet, there's a certain intensity behind her eyes that catches his interest; it's like a different color, a different reason, something lying deep within her that brings him back to when she had manifested her intense need to go there and explore.

What could be driving this far and fast into what could very well be her end? Moon's eyes turn to him, blinking and for a second he sees _something _before it's gone and she's giving him a snicker, one that puffs through her nose and swells her chest.

Teeth gritted, realizing he had been caught staring, Gladion closes his eyes and lets his nose wrinkle. "Your conception of fun still bewilders me."

"Oh, c'mon! Stop raining on my parade!" Moon pouts, then stretches her lips into a full grin. "You're just jealous because I got here before you did!"

Watching them bicker, Gladion's hands trembling and Moon seemingly having the time of her life, Hau leans back in his chair and laughs along to the chatter of the café.

* * *

The three spend the day visiting all that Altaria Bay has to offer. Moon shows them a place to stay and they book separate rooms in a big building of the town right at the end of the main pier. Moon also mentions that Altaria Bay has separate cabins connected to the pier, but those are very pricey– she had tried to very foolishly book one of those, but she hadn't had enough money for that.

Hau also sits her down to explain the gold issue to her when she mentions that she has a lot of money, but that it hadn't been enough for her to grab a room in an individual sea cabin. "How many of those lingots did you get?"

"I'd say… about ten, maybe twelve. I didn't have enough space to carry more, but–"

The way her expression brightens brings Gladion to shake his head. "No way we're going back there. Don't be ridiculous."

As her shoulders sag in disappointment, Hau scratches his cheek and looks over her. Despite the wealth she brags about, her clothes remain unchanged. "What did you do with the money?"

"I'm saving part of it, and the rest went for some improvements on my trusty daggers." Moon twirls one into her hand and shows the shiny weapon to them. Gladion hasn't been paying enough attention to see the changes, but this one has a red ribbon wrapped tightly around the handle. "Very fancy, am I right?"

Hau clearly has no answer to this, so he offers a polite nod with a grin. "Yeah, they look pretty damn awesome! I'm guessing you sold the lingots to get those, right?"

"Yeah! The buyer went insane over it. They are on a mineral shortage here, apparently."

Gladion blinks at the lack of hitches in her story. "Did he check if it was true gold?"

"What do you take me for, a scammer?" Moon puts her hands on her hips and grins. "It's true gold! I got it from that dude's room in Reikyuu's Mirage Hotel."

That's when Hau goes in to explain what had happened in Shongshu with the lady in watch duty, the incident with the metal and how they had gotten away with it thanks to Gladion's semi-expert negotiating skills – at this, Gladion frowns, and Moon scratches her chin with utter indifference.

"Man, then I guess I _did _scam somebody. That's insane."

Hau laughs at this, more of a giggle behind his teeth. "Dude, I can't believe the two of you conned people out of their money– well, you conned _two _people!" he says, pointing at the two as Moon's eyebrows disappear under her side-swept fringe.

Then, she crosses her legs on the bench that she and Hau are sitting on and stares at Gladion in suspecting disbelief, smirking at him as he stands behind Hau. "And you called me a scammer like I was scum. You're such a hypocrite!"

"I at least didn't con a woman to cover my criminal record– I _negotiated _to cover your mess!"

Hau turns around to grin at him. "You use negotiating very liberally, man."

The swordman folds his arms and looks away from them as they start laughing hysterically at his expense. "Oh, _shut up_."

Night rolls in as they make plans for tomorrow. Moon affirms that she has some ideas to do some training the next day, and as tired as they are, they begrudgingly let her take over it in favor of some rest. They walk together to the building of their hotel before they notice Moon isn't following them into the lobby and is standing at the threshold of the hotel.

Gladion and Hau turn to ask her, but she's pointing in a direction outside the hotel and is smiling. "I won't be going to bed just yet, it's too early," she says as she turns and waves at them in a fashion Gladion knows he's done before. "Sleep tight, you two."

Hau, as eager as he is to jump into bed, nods and wishes her a good night before sprinting down the hall and to the stairs to his room, but Gladion is a bit slower as he finds it odd she's holding up sleep– but he hasn't been sleeping regularly close to her, so he can't know what her sleeping pattern is anyway. It does look logical that she would go to bed later than the rest, boundless and energetic as she is, so he lets the topic rest.

The topic rests, but he doesn't. The bed is much more comfortable than anything he's slept on until now– a bit hard on his bones, but it's warm and no bugs threaten his sleep. He should be _melting _into the mattress, but he isn't and he just stares aimlessly at the ceiling.

It might be that this is the place most resembling an actual house and he has now time to gather his thoughts and analyze all that has happened this far. Everything is a blur, almost, cloudy in the frenetic pace and development of occurrences from the moment he met Moon to this very moment in bed, his hands grasping the blankets as the dark ceiling is all that talks to him.

Palm trees rustle by his window, moonlight streams into his room and casts beautiful shadows around the walls, covering it in mystical blue. The sea rocks like a lullaby in the short distance– in fact, it would only take him five minutes to taste the sea and he can't get that out of his head.

Gladion is wide awake.

So, he gets up from bed, grabs his Silvally just to be safe, and heads to the Birdsong Café, the only place he remembers well enough to know his way back to the hotel when sleep catches up with him.

Gladion lazily treads through the night stretching his muscles – which are oddly sore – and looks around. There is very little light, other than the few lampposts scattered far and in between the streets. Altaria Bay is fairly tropical, and the salty breeze it carries fools him into believing that, for a second, he's far away from this problematic Dominion.

He reaches the café, but instead of heading to the building, he walks to a small lookout with a fence along it, posts crooked and wet with the splashes of the waves under his feet. He takes the time to feel the breeze, to let his mind drift off until a knowing voice breaks his concentration into twain.

"Wow, Gladbag, I thought you'd be snoring your life away by now."

Moon's voice never fails to make his shoulders tense like he's about to face danger, and when he looks up to find her sitting on the roof of Birdsong Café, she might as well be looking for trouble, grinning like that and kicking her feet. "What are you doing _up there_?"

"What's up? Jealous I'm up here and you're down there like a peasant?" Moon shares a playful smile with him. "Everything's prettier the higher one is!"

He can't disagree with her– for sure she has a good view of the sea from up there. Everything is tinted in purple and blue, the moon but a beam of light scattering lights and sparkles in the calm sea in front of them. There are distant seagulls cooing as they head to sleep, exactly what neither of them are doing now.

Bathed by the pale light of the night, she points at the sea. "Look at that. Do you see those big mountains in the distance?"

He follows her index to the sea. If he squints very, _very _hard, he can see a few peaks in the roughly visible horizon. They are black in the dark purple sky, the located lack stars being the only thing to point out the silhouette of the mountains. Gladion clears his throat. "My eyesight is… not at its best."

Moon turns her eyes to him. She's sitting cross-legged, one elbow on her knee. "You use glasses?"

"Only to read. I can get on without them just fine."

He had left his glasses at home, actually, and the thought of taking them with him never crossed his mind. They were sort of squared and colored black, his preferred color for almost any accessory he wears.

She hums in approval, then turns her eyes to the horizon again. "Anyway, there's this big continent all the way across the Soakedge Seas with huge mountains and big deserts and temples. They say it's got lots of treasures, monsters, and all that good stuff, and it's super dangerous." A blissful sigh escapes her. "We could go there with the Blackring ship."

"We could also set out for a much more reasonable goal and just cross the Soakedge Strait as we agreed." She grunts in irritation at that, but she doesn't voice out her feelings. Gladion appreciates her silence more than her words. "Also, if you want to talk, at least come down to a normal height. I can barely hear you."

Gladion hears her grin even louder than her words. "Maybe that was my intention."

"Then do me a favor and jump off to the sea."

A pause. Eyes peering over the ledge in dim curiosity. "Y'know, I wouldn't die if I jumped off."

_Of course she wouldn't_. "Why is it I'm not surprised?"

A cackle, almost a laugh but not quite. Her feet scrape against the rough roof of Birdsong Café. "I guess not even the silliest of waves can kill me. Nor a five-meter fall with calm waters." Gladion hears silence from her, then her feet landing on the ground and steps in his direction, skipping to his side like the hyperactive twat she is. "Besides, I said I'm insistent, and we have business to do tomorrow."

Right. A pest, as she had called herself, something she's managed to find great pride in. "Whatever. I really don't care."

Even as she's idle, she moves. At first, she shifts her weight from side to side, then she leans against the fence of the lookout and he thinks she might actually jump out to prove him wrong, and then she's drumming her fingers and looking around. Her body is always acting a mile faster than her mind, as if she's ready for whatever the world throws at her.

Moon is almost _too _ready for that. It's interesting, but also absolutely mind-numbing.

Then, she speaks again. "Your sword," she points at his Silvally, perched on his hip, "you gave it a name."

She says it like it's a question, even if it's phrased like a statement. He glances at her in confusion. "Yeah, I did. What's with the sudden interest?"

By the looks of it, she's actually wildly interested. In her usually dismissive and dispassionate behavior, he can discern a wild focus in her eyes that he doesn't see very often. Like a sparkle, one he sees when she has a goal in her mind– but this time, she doesn't appear to be out for his sanity, and just has a question in mind.

She speaks out. "Why did you give it a name?"

It's a fairly innocent and harmless question, unexpectedly. His choice to name his weapon had not been conscious, and in his head, he always rationalized such childish choice as it being a product of a need for familiarity with the sword. Giving it a name would be like bestowing a soul on it, like one names a pet or calls a loved object to attach themselves to it.

Him picking up the sword had been all to protect himself and a hidden interest, but it had been hard to adjust to having something as dangerous as a blade. He was no longer the victim, but also the _offender_, and it's so much different to be chased as a defenseless pup than a harmful and dangerous lion.

"I like my sword. It means a lot to me, I guess," he responds nonchalantly. "People usually name stuff when they are attached to it, so I named mine Silvally." He doesn't know why he explains that last bit, but he feels she might need to know that– because, after all, Moon is not normal.

"Why Silvally, though? It sounds more like a dog's name."

Gladion is unfazed by her comment. It doesn't look like she aimed to tease him, either. "The handle is made of silver. And it's an ally. Silver, ally… you know how it goes." Moon nods, but her eyes linger on the sword. "It's my only way to protect myself, so I'm fond of it."

"Huh." Moon reaches behind her to take out her daggers, looking at them pointedly. "I can call mine however I want too, right?"

"I really don't care."

As always, she brushes off his lack of interest and nods to herself. "Then I can call them… Betty and Joanne! Those are pretty names!"

As much as he's surprised she's chosen rather elegant and classic names, he dislikes the lack of effort put into the deed. "Don't be an idiot!" he exclaims before he can stop himself, and the next words come as a natural following of the prior. "Names are supposed to be meaningful. Don't go giving them names just to be cute."

A smirk. "Didn't you say you didn't care?"

Gladion turns his head and crosses his arms, unconsciously covering himself. "And I don't, but you could at least give them proper names when the opportunity comes."

As she turns her head with another last curt nod and a huff, he finds her to be satisfied with his answer. Still, something hangs in the air, not particularly heavy, but thick enough for him to feel there is something in his brain that hasn't quite settled.

When he looks at her again, it occurs to him what that could exactly be.

"Can I ask you a question?"

The mischievous grin is on before he has even finished his words. "Interested in the life of your good ol' mate Moon?"

"Not particularly," he grunts, clearly disinterested yet still visibly curious. "It has to do with tomorrow more than anything else."

And as she turns to look at him, smiling still, it comes to him that he sort of lied, and that for once, he might have a question about her that he never thought he would ask– but it's more about scientific curiosity than anything else.

He also comes to the awkward realization that while he has a very evident frown plastered on his face all the time, she has that little smile on hers, both gestures always in varying intensities. The stark contrast is hard to swallow.

"You look very… _eager _to arrive at the Blackring Outpost." Moon nods slowly, letting him go on. "May I ask why?"

He hadn't expected it to come out that smoothly, but it does and it surprises them both. She's taken aback by his sudden interest, eyes wide and her eternal smile wiped off her face just as his frown is substituted by a blank face, neutral and awaiting.

It reminds him of the days she had asked things a bit too deep; his hair, his objectives. Questions he had refused to answer because of their complexity, because things are never as easy as a sentence, a motive and a feeling– it's always about so much more.

Maybe, he thinks, that's why she's taking so long to answer, even though he would have expected her motives to be shallow– because he always expects the same from her.

And that might be why she also smiles, chuckles to herself and turns around with a teasing smile, as though she's remembering and thinking of exactly the same day, the same table in Taeyong's teahouse and the same shared meal and hidden secrets he refused to reveal to her.

"You're getting ahead of yourself. You just wanna spoil all the secrets too quickly. Where's the fun in that?" He has an answer at the bottom of his throat but she's snickering to interrupt him. "Right! I'm getting sleepy. We're gonna go treasure hunting again tomorrow, so–"

"What? Again?" Gladion groans out, causing her to grin brilliantly as she walks backward, hands behind her back. "What in the world are we going to do now?"

"I heard there's an underwater cave close to here– we _need _to check it out!"

"_Why_?"

Moon shrugs, but her smile remains all the same as she turns around and waves at him, her cheeriness being carried with the air. "I can't let some ambitious hunter take the treasure before me– that'd be just _ridiculous_!"

Gladion watches her leave, and while the change of topic had been brisk and cleverly handled – which makes him think she's done this before – her answer rattles in his head, inflating the heavy suspicion he's been dragging from the day they parted from Bleakdross to this very moment. Her eagerness to reach the Blackring too blatant for him to overlook it.

It never occurred to him that, just like he keeps to himself, Moon also has a fair amount of secrets of her own.

A sigh of exhaustion. Moon's antics will be the end of him. "What an insufferable brat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gladion: what's up with your weird hyperfixation  
Moon: you haven't unlocked my backstory just yet  
Gladion: your what
> 
> Moon has secrets wow what a shOCKER I wonder what those are though hmmmmmmmmm
> 
> I also just. I love Altaria Bay so, so so much. I wrote this listening to Toto Africa and it FUCKING SHOWS. It's probably my favorite place EVER in this fic. A little town along the beach where the sunlight ripples on the calm sea, where seagulls cry in the sky and everything is blue and white and green and yellow and just BEAUTIFUL? Haywire. I go haywire. I love this place and I just /dies. It's such a stark contrast with EVERYTHING we have seen of this Dominion so far it's actually just a backwater and I will never shut up about how much I enjoyed the world-building for this chapter. 
> 
> I can taste the water in those initial descriptions and hear the water murmuring with its waves at the shore. I'm so proud of that world-building and it's my absolute favorite.
> 
> I need to paint this someday I just need to learn how to draw first hhh


	14. Growing Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion, Moon and Hau explore a cave, have a little fun, and very nearly get brutally killed by curiosity.

Gladion is not a man to repeat his own mistakes.

The sun had risen, the clouds cleared and the sea had greeted his ears in what seemed to be a great day– at least in the weather department. As much of a realist man that he is, he gets up, gets dressed and eats breakfast before meeting up with Moon and Hau, and he really thinks that everything will go great today.

That was before his mind catches up with what Moon had said the day before, right as they are walking through a path along the edge of a cliff that gives view to the ocean. She's walking ahead of them; the spring on her step is the only reminder that danger is to come in what should have been a great, peaceful day.

Hau is oblivious to all that is to come, clearly because he's never done this sort of thing with her. "We're headed to a very pretty place… somewhere here. I saw it a bit ago!"

"What are we looking for, exactly?" asks Hau.

Moon turns cranes her head to look at them from over her shoulder. "A _cave_."

_Not this again_.

"A cave? Close to the sea?" The sorcerer looks around himself again. Walking under the peaceful shade of rustling trees, there's no sight of a cave anywhere. "Won't that be a bit hard to find?"

Gladion closes his eyes. "Leave it up to her to try to find gold in a mountain of hay. She's ridiculous."

At that she turns around, hands on her hips and mouth twisted in disapproval. "You're the one being ridiculous! If there's the sea, then there will be a treasure somewhere, I can _smell _it!" she claims, wobbling backward until she turns around and skips some steps ahead. "It's gotta be somewhere. Where there's a cave, there's a treasure– we proved that theory right last time!"

Hau's eyes are on him now, asking what she meant by that. Gladion grumbles a response. "You didn't. You just want to play explorer and probably torture us somewhere in there."

Her cheeky grin is obvious, a finger pointed up. "Now, you're saying it as if it's a bad thing!"

"It _is_."

"It isn't! You just have no exploring spirit!" Walking ahead of them again, she doesn't see Hau chuckle and the other sigh impatiently, but they are following her anyway. "I bet Hau believes me, doesn't he?"

"I mean… I don't really know where we are so I bet it ain't that bad, right?" His tone is too innocent for his own good. He really doesn't know how much chaos Moon is capable of. "Why are we going there, anyway? I thought we'd go straight to the business."

"And we _are_, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun and train, too!" Moon answers, jumping over a stone that Gladion, in his mind-numbing task to tolerate the heat and her, almost trips with. "Besides, if there's a treasure in there, we need to grab it. How can we _not _go explore when it's so evidently on our nose?"

"Last time you said that, all we got was a blanket– a _very _ugly blanket." One he has in his backpack and with rhinestones that always catch with the leather of his bag. "And some coins."

"And a great, delightful learning experience!"

"That's debatable."

"But we had fun!" Moon twirls around as they begin to ascend a slope, smirking as she points to him. "And you have used that blanket a few times, right? You would have caught a few nasty colds if it weren't thanks to my excellent intuition and treasure hunting skills!"

Sighing, he hears Hau laugh along to her teasing. "You give yourself too much credit over a blanket and a meal's worth on coins."

He would be concerned if it weren't for the fact that 1. He doesn't care, and 2. He's used to her shenanigans at this point, which is alarming on its own. Hau, clearly not used to those, just brushes it off and laughs. "Have you ever found any shiny treasures anywhere, Moon?"

That drives her to think for a few seconds, tapping her index against her chin and looking at the sky as they exit the tree-full section of their path. "I'd say I found a few. I once dug up half an altar at the south of Reikyuu."

Now _that_ sounds very remarkable. Hau jumps in surprise, whereas Gladion's wide eyes make his surprise less evident. "Dude, that's awesome! Didn't you find anything there?"

"I let a couple of my mates take the treasure because they were in a pinch. Y'know, they were flat-ass broke. But then they wanted to take my part too, so I had to fight them for my slice of the cake." Her sigh after that sounds fond, and the smile he can see through the swish of her hair as she walks makes the following words even more frightening. "I don't know what became of that. I left them to rot in the desert and I got my last pair of shoes as a prize. Isn't that _awesome_?"

When she turns to grin at them and expect their approval, all she gets is silence, a gulp from Hau and Gladion's rolling eyes, because he isn't surprised by that either. Of course she would fight to the death over a pair of shoes– who wouldn't, other than her?

They finally reach the end of a slope Gladion thought to be endless. Moon stands proud at the end of the path, with wind blowing on her hair as she looks down at what seems to be their destined point of exploring. The sea is utterly endless under them, peaceful and blue under the warm sun. Summer might be ending, as far as he knows, but it sure looks sunny and beautiful from where they stand.

Gladion expects her to lead them through a small path he can see through the trees to their right, but she's instead pointing down to the sea below them and that's when the dreaded sense of vertigo kicks in.

"We're going down _there_!" Said _there _is nowhere to be seen, but she luckily elaborates on that. "There's a small plateau under us– it's safe, don't worry! We just gotta swing down and get there, but there are also some steps, I think."

After a few seconds of search, she finds the desired path. There are a few gaps on the rock that make them look like stairs, something much more sturdy than the swinging vines she's eyeing whilst rubbing her hands and grinning.

Hands in his pockets, he shakes his head. "There's no way in _hell _I'm going to use that."

And, surprisingly, she doesn't push her own agenda. She looks back at him with a sly smirk and sticks out her tongue. "And I didn't expect either of you to do that. The stairs are safer– but they're so much slower, so I'm gonna take the easy and quick road if you don't mind."

"Knock yourself out." He means it in more ways than one, but there's a layer of untruth to that statement he can't really shake off.

"You wish!" she exclaims, missing said underlying dishonesty, and for that he's thankful. She's jumping from stair to stair until she reaches a turning point and finds the vines hanging from the cliff. "'Kay, I'm gonna bounce off, then!"

And much to his chagrin, Hau rushes to her and jumps up and down in what at first looks like encouragement, but then turns into methodical insanity. "Wait, I wanna try too! That sounds like so much fun!"

"_Really_?" And to make it worse, she looks just as enthusiastic about it as him.

"Yeah, dude! That looks _wild_!"

Gladion is taking the steps slowly when he turns to look at them. "Are those even safe?"

A proud Moon hums and grins, one hand on what looks like a frail vine and another on her waist. "I tried it out the other day! It's so much fun and very, _very _safe!"

He murmurs something similar to '_whatever_' and lets them do their thing, muting out the overly energetic chatter they're on now. To Moon's credit, the steps are very safe and nothing shakes under his stride, but they will be _hell _to use when they go back. His thighs will only take so much before they grow sore after going up these stairs, and he can't help but wonder how Hau and Moon will pull that exact task later.

Just as he thinks of them, a blur of black swings right past him, hysterical laughter following the shadow. "Dude, this…!" Hau zooms out of sight, twirling and spinning so madly it's obvious this is his first time. Gladion continues going down the steps. "... having so much fun!" And he comes back, then disappears as he spirals down the fall in a series of twirls and laughter.

Moon, however, is descending much more gracefully, and to his surprise, she's swinging right towards him and landing a few steps behind. He dimly registers that she hasn't let go of the vine. "Hau's having the time of his life."

In response, laughter echoes from below them. It appears he's reached the plateau safe and sound. "I'm just surprised he hasn't broken his head following your diabolical schemes."

A teasing hum accompanies her words. "You're just salty you can't ride these like we do, but don't worry!" Turning around, he finds her to be winking and saluting, one leg off the step and another pushing her off the ground. "You can try again when you grow a pair!"

Seeing a vein popping in his head and left hand twitching, she makes the wise decision of leaving again and continuing her descent, swishing past him and then spiraling down in way smaller circles than what Hau had done. As close as he is to the plateau, he hears her land safely on the ground.

His steady descent finishes and he jumps to the plateau, finding them standing at the opening of the dungeon and Hau is jumping around again, probably to ride off the surplus of adrenalin. "That was amazing! I never knew swinging vines like that would be so much fun!"

"You need to be more careful next time, though," she says, arms folded yet she speaks with no sternness on his face. "You could have broken a leg or two with the way you fell."

It occurs to Gladon suddenly that, despite her evident expertise, Moon had not been faster than Hau, and had been behind him all the time, probably, so she might have stayed behind to make sure nothing happens to him. Before he can search for that sentiment on her face, though, she turns around and looks at the entrance.

Gladion joins them, stalking in their direction at his own pace. The mouth of the cave is terribly big, taking up almost half the space of the cliff's height. It's riddled with peaks and irregular ends, nothing like the harmonic circular mouth of Gemstone Village's caves. The rock under their feet is just as rough, full of uneven ends and gaps in which one could get their shoes stuck.

She lets out a satisfied sigh. "That looks like one big mister dungeon here. It looks even better than the one in Gemstone Village!"

He can hear a question seeking his agreement in her words, but he can't see anything better in what he has before him. Her definition of _better _is severely skewed, that much he knows. "This just looks big. And unstable."

Hau perks up with a very smart question. "Are the tides low or high right now?" Nobody responds to him, so he deems it appropriate to elaborate. "I wouldn't wanna get trapped in there if the sea is rising. That'd be dangerous."

Deeming her to be the most suited to answer that, both turn to Moon, who blinks and then grins in her dismissive nature. "Only one way to find out!" So she begins to walk towards the entrance with a skip on her step that Gladion dreads. "Besides, if it actually _is _rising, we can just wait for it to get low!"

"Of course, because waiting for that while drowning sounds like a terribly enjoyable hobby." Not expecting an answer from her, he turns to Hau again. "Do you think it could be on the rise?"

"Dude, I have no idea." Grimacing, Hau turns to the sea, then to Gladion. "I'd say it's falling, but I just wanna make sure we don't get trapped in there and spend the day with the fishies."

Moon chuckles. It nearly sounds villainous. "Well, you love fishing, don't you?" When she turns to them, she's smirking. "You can make use of your hobby if we get trapped."

"I… Hand fishing ain't my specialty."

"Good!" Moon laughs and Hau's bewilderment _almost _makes Gladion smile. "You can practice that, then!"

And that's how they walk to the cave, carried by Hau's stammered responses and Moon's more solid ones. Gladion continues to watch them go back and forth on fishing. Just as he had thought sparingly, in the dead of the night or day, they are eerily similar. There are differences in how they handle each other and how they talk, but the similarities are intense enough for him to be worried he'd end up with a headache twice as big as usual.

He hadn't gotten one yet, however, so that's either insane luck or resilience on his part.

The path inside the cave is not as rough as the prior dungeon had been. While very bumpy and slippery in some parts, everything is relatively even. The place is solely lit up by the gaps in the ceiling, which bring the word 'high, dangerous and unstable' to mind. The thought of the ceiling collapsing on them isn't that pleasant, but this place looks _ancient _so maybe the cave won't give in today, of all days, years and months.

"I haven't really explored that much," Moon confesses as they make their way through what he deems to be the lobby. Everything is green, blue and stone of an in-between color mixed with grey, and by the wet and cold air around them, he can tell this used to be an underwater facility. "So I'm not sure what we're going against."

"So you led us here… without a plan," deadpans Gladion.

"...which makes it more fun!" Her cheeriness bounces against all walls of the dungeon, reverberating and unveiling the depth of the chamber. "Going into a challenge blindly makes everything much more interesting."

"It might to a reckless daredevil like you." Hau chuckles at Gladion's comment.

Moon turns around and smiles at him. "Thank you!"

"That was _not _a compliment."

"That's what _you _think," Moon responds as they finish walking through the lobby of the dungeon.

Hau laughs even harder at that, saying something under his breath about how funny she is– but Gladion doesn't find her that amusing. At least he's gotten so used to it, he doesn't have the energy to find it irritating, either.

As they are about to enter the first room of the dungeon, Hau abruptly stops laughing and pushes them back, then motions them to back up against the walls of the corridor. Moon and Gladion jump to a side, and Hau to another, and after two seconds of silence, they peer from behind two broken pillars framing the exit of the lobby.

A being made of rings of glass and a core like fire, stars and water are whirling nervously in the center of the room, levitating a few good meters off the ground. It's rotating continuously in a way that screams nervousness, as if this being was alive and the glassy rings spinning madly gave away a certain sense of anxiety that they could have provoked.

Hau chirps in with a low voice. "It's a guarding totem. It must have picked up the sound of our voice and awoken."

Moon blinks in his direction. "How do you know?"

"I've seen a few of these guys. They're tough as nails. They aren't, like, necessarily aggressive, but this one must be guarding something very important to be this worked up about us."

And at the word _worked up _and _aggressive_, Moon breathes out a snicker and twirls her daggers out from her back, but before she can say as much of a word, Gladion has grabbed her wrist and is lowering her weapons to where she's not dangerous, eliciting a pout out of her that he chooses to overlook. "How can we defeat it?"

Hau looks at the spinning being from the sidelines and grows to a dim pale. "Maybe… I can try to deactivate it? Though I ain't that good at these things. And I haven't done that in a while…"

Gladion talks again before Moon has any space to talk and bring in more trouble. "I could try to attack it, but I'm sure it will just bring more trouble. Those glass rings will slap me off." And for further emphasis, he points at Moon behind him. "And it will slap her away, too."

By the frown on her face, he can tell she wants to slap _him_, but she now knows what he has to deal with on a daily basis. "I could throw a knife at it!"

"I doubt a knife will make a dent on it. Like, those rings are spinning pretty damn fast," says Hau, clearly unhappy denying her favors, and by the way she huffs and puffs and lets out a small groan she agrees, much to Gladion's delight.

The blond juts his chin in his direction. "You'll have to do it yourself, then. I don't want to have my head chopped off."

The uncomfortable grimace that settles on Hau's face betrays a certain hesitation to carry out the duty, but something in his eyes settles and he nods, taking out his staff slowly to not make any noise. "I think I can deactivate it. Don't say a word now, I don't wanna rile it up more."

When the figure has turned towards a viable direction, Hau carefully and ghostly steps out from his hiding spot and crouches. Runes appear under him and they sizzle slowly towards the totem, a green light appearing along the path as it draws itself over rocks, grass and the engravings on the cobblestone ground.

Then, a silent but deadly spike of thunder strikes from underneath and the totem shrieks – or whirs, Gladion can't interpret that noise very well – and falls in a crumpled mess, the glass shattering and the lights coming from the totem fading to darkness.

Moon steps out first, and when she sees there's no reaction from the totem, Hau sighs in relief and she whistles appreciatively, "Whew. That was _stealthy_."

Gladion wouldn't have put it in better words himself. Hau seems immensely relieved by this, so much so the other can't help but wonder how afraid he had been of _not _pulling it off. "It's a matter of focus. And stamina. The vine trip earlier might have helped with that."

Moon nods and strides to the center of the room. The skip on her saunter makes her look more upbeat than she should be. "If there's a totem this big, there might be a super cool treasure back there!"

She points in the direction of the following hallway, which ends in what seems to be a dark section of the dungeon. The totem remains motionless on the ground and gives no signs of picking itself up again, and Gladion can't help but agree that something must be up for it to be on guard in the first place.

Moon skips forward, jumping over the corpse as Hau goes around it. Gladion simply steps through the cracks in the totem and stalks behind them, catching up at a quicker pace. After the shame she had put on him for not swinging down the vine, he won't _not _catch up.

They enter a place full of gaps and in total contrast with what they had just exited. It's all purple and dark, as if it's suddenly nighttime already when, in reality, Gladion knows it to be early in the morning. They have come to a plateau with only one exit: a zigzagging path across a deep, dark chasm, all with no railings or sense of sturdiness. The only way to make _anything _out of the darkness is the ancient torches scattered across the cave.

In the darkness, he can barely see Moon and Hau, but he hears and feels them advance towards the path. The former is clearly _thrilled _to walk the path and only holds out her arms, though Gladion knows she doesn't need that to find her balance; Hau is, however, absolutely terrified.

"Uh, Moon… that looks _unsafe_," he groans in fear, almost a moan. For a lack of better words, Gladion would say he's scared shitless.

Moon hasn't put a foot on the way yet. "Don't be silly, we'll be fine!" Her voice, more pitched and higher in volume, booms across the cave. "I'll lead the way if you want. We can hold hands if you need!"

Hau doesn't hold her hand in the end; maybe because the nagging perception that Moon will put him through somersaults and kicks before reaching safety prevents him from doing so, which is a safe assumption in Gladion's opinion. Moon balances herself through the narrow path, but Gladion makes the dutiful observation that she's not looking down, while Hau very much _is _and is squirming about it constantly.

Gladion is visibly more careful and advances in the last position, holding out his arms and stopping at certain stages, sometimes crouching for more leverage. The fact that Moon crossed the chasm without any need of that remains a mystery to Gladion.

The next source of light comes from the next room in the dungeon, and Gladion is glad to realize that it will be the last one. Everything is exactly the same as the prior first room had been, making the last dangerous passage look more like a transition rather than a proper room.

Moon must think things look too secretive to be treasure-less, possibly fueled by the hard to reach placement of the cave and the fact that they could have fallen and died whilst reaching safety. She rubs her hands as they exit the passage. "This is gonna be _good_."

The chamber has no guardians this time, and it's smaller than the first one. Unlike the passage they had just gone through, a thin veil of sunlight filters into the room through a crack on the ceiling high above them. Sunshine brings sparkles to the dew on the vines that run up the walls of this sanctuary, yet there's an eerie stillness in the air that makes the place timeless and untouched, though there's a thin layer of dust everywhere he looks.

Hau looks around himself with awe written in his eyes, sparkling even more than the details in the walls before them. "This is so pretty! I wouldn't have expected to find something like this here!"

Gladion isn't sure what he means by 'something like this', considering the room doesn't look like anything in particular. There's nothing within it that could unveil its nature or purpose, but Moon is walking deeper into it like she knows everything will be fine, causing Gladion to fold his arms as he looks around, too.

While Hau looks around and points out all the cool things he sees – he's aware nobody is listening – Gladion follows after Moon. She's stopped right before the furthest wall into the room, examining it silently.

As he reaches her side, he finds her to be inspecting a small bump on the wall, almost too geometrical to not be intentional. "That looks like a button."

His smart-ass commentary doesn't amuse her. She's tapping her foot against the ground, a finger curled under her chin as she looks around herself. "There's _no _treasure chest anywhere. It doesn't make sense."

"Unless it's, you know, just a cave and does not have a treasure."

Moon is visibly upset at this possibility. "That can't be possible. Not in this reality. Maybe this button here is what makes it pop up!"

The button before her is, indeed, very tempting, but he wouldn't say it will make a treasure appear. In fact, as Moon inches her hands closer to the button, he feels more and more unsure about it. "Don't press it."

"Why not? It's a button, and buttons are made to be pressed," she says, her hands hovering over the stone button. "What could even go wrong? Don't be a child."

And that's where she gets him. It's always the same with her provocations and subtle jabs, constantly working him up to the point he's just keeping his irritation at bay, and not necessarily keeping_ her_ at bay. "Moon, the button is too obvious. It could be a trap."

"You're an idiot! Of course it isn't!" So, she presses it. Slowly, carefully, smoothly, and then, she turns her head to the right. "I… heard a noise."

_Rumble._

The ground is shaking, bringing the walls to crack and for stones to fall off the ceiling as Hau falls to the floor and Gladion crouches and winces as the place continues shaking, something above him _shattering _and he can hear things are starting to fall apart.

"This… it's a _tomb_!" Gladion manages to scream as he gets himself to his feet, Hau nodding his head and taking to the exit, Gladion turning with him before he notices something is missing. "We need to run– Moon, what the hell are you _doing_!?_"_

The girl is awkwardly tugging at the button exactly like she had tried to take the crystal out of the dungeon in Gemstone Village, winding and groaning as her head bends backward and she seems unaware of the danger, but a certain emergency is all over her face. "If I tug at it, maybe–!"

And Gladion decides at that moment that he has no time for this, leaps to her, yanks her by the back of her shirt and drags her away from the breaking down room– he doesn't know why he does it, what spirit could have possessed him to take the step further of saving her from stubbornness-induced catastrophe, but he does push her away without a single complaint on his side– or on hers, for that matter.

Moon falls into pace with him quick enough, wiggling out of his hand and trying to catch up with Hau as they dodge falling debris and talk through Hau's screaming. "You could have been gentler! My shirt is old!"

"Everything you're wearing is as old as time!"

"I bet that treasure was also ancient!"

They reach the dark passage, which has turned even more terrifying than before with the shaking and the continuous pieces of ceiling falling on them. The abyss is swallowing all the rocks and no noises come from the collision, meaning the pit is terrifyingly deep. Surprisingly enough, Hau doesn't realize this and rushes across the barely standing narrow path to where it seems to be safe.

Gladion notices the depth of the chasm but pushes through anyway, and Moon is about to follow him before she takes one step in the wrong direction and the path cracks, breaks and pushes her down.

Hau screams her name, rushes towards her but Moon is quick enough to walk on the falling pieces and, on her rush to safety, her eyes dart to the right and hold onto a vine that has cracked through the ceiling, climbing up the frail plant even when it had been falling with the ceiling seconds before.

Her whole being is wrapped around the vine. Rocks continue to fall around her, the vine is little by little giving in to her weight, and while the crashing down has slowed down considerably, big chunks of the cave are about to give in.

Hau rushes to the edge of the platform as Gladion observes her slowly. "Moon, you gotta let go! I can catch you if you land here!"

"Listen– I'm fine!" But she's squirming even further up the vine. "I just gotta manage myself and I'll be fine! Everything is _fine_!"

There's sharp distress in her voice Gladion has never heard before. As far from him as she is, he can't see her face, but she's visibly shaking, the vine trembling with her. Her usually fearless demeanor has been pushed aside by this situation to the point she's stammering, wrapped around a thread almost literally, her head still not darting down to face the danger she's dangling from.

It's when it dawns on him that while Moon has always been carefree and reckless, there has always been a certain calculation. She's always known where she would fall, how things would end, no matter the pain– but the chasm is big, dark, endless and threatening. There is no doubt she's fretting over it and he isn't surprised.

But she's _scared_. Or, at least, he thinks this is the closest he's seen her to such. And it makes him feel very unsettled, too, even if it's just a nagging in the back of his head telling him that this image is just not right.

"Moon, you gotta trust us! We'll catch you if you jump here!" Hau yells from the plateau. "We won't let you fall! You gotta let go of the vine!"

"I can do it on my own! I don't need you– or anyone to catch me!" she claims even louder, talking through her teeth as she slowly uncurls her legs, slowly loosens her grip on the vine and he can distinctly hear her breathe in, breathe out.

This is more than he can take. A test too powerful on his frail patience, all flickering in the midst of a collapsing cave.

Gladion puts his hands on his hips and walks to the edge of the platform. His tone becomes thick and chiding, frowning at her in the darkness. "Listen, if you're planning to jump, do it now! Are you really the woman who killed a mandatory of the Kandrus Empire? The woman who vandalized a Blackring wagon? Where's that spirit now? I thought you were _braver _than that!"

By the way she tenses and freezes he knows she's caught the jab and has swallowed the punch in a way more proud than he could dream of achieving. It's a compliment in a very roundabout way, one he never thought he'd have to resort to, but the three of them are in danger and her spirit would haunt him forever if they leave her there to rot, even if she brought this upon herself.

Moon takes a deep breath. She accepts the compliment silently, gulping it down. "I'm right here!"

"Then jump here already!" encourages Hau, grinning as he sees Gladion's words strike an effect in her. "We ain't precisely in a place to waste time!"

Gladion watches her tense, then lower her body and swing her legs in a manner only an expert would find suitable, and she leaps from the vine and to the platform, only safe and sound because she crouches, then falls to the side and gets up, regaining her balance at top speed.

Gladion walks close to her as she sighs and grabs her bearings. The vine falls to the abyss exactly a second later, so he makes not telling her about it his good deed of the day. She wouldn't like being told she had been a second away from dying, or at least he knows he wouldn't.

And then she's nodding, smiling with confidence again and picking herself up like nothing has happened, but they are running out of time. The exit is far from them and Gladion is aware that his legs are throbbing, but they manage to make it to the entrance of the cave, the mouth collapsing right in front of their eyes.

They jump out of the darkness and into the sunshine of the morning, and the cave collapses entirely behind them as they land on the platform with three simultaneous thuds. Hau looks back, an arm bent in front of him as the entrance is quickly being buried with debris.

Hau and Gladion exchange sighs of relief, but the former breaks out into a grin. "Dude, that _was _an experience."

But then Gladion hears a very distinct _thump-thump-thump _coming from his right, where Moon is lying and jamming her fist against the ground, words muffled into the stone. "_We didn't get the treasure we should have gotten a treasure I swear to Arceus–_"

But at least they are alive.

Sort of.

And that counts as a blessing for today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gladion: Moon, that button looks dangerous  
Moon: no it doesn't  
Moon:  
Moon: oh
> 
> This chapter has just a PINCH of development. Very tiny. Microscopic. Very smol. A baby. And next chapter will be where we get to do some BONDING as a small Ad Break tm before the BAD GUYS SHOW UP and stuff happens again.
> 
> This fic is a ride and tbh I kinda love it oops


	15. Turbulence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion, Moon and Hau talk about what it means to be a hero. Gladion learns he might not be made of stone after all.

"Who the fuck are these guys!?"

"Dude, I don't know!" Swords clash, and the bandit is pushed back to the ground, where he scrambles back as the offender rushes closer. "But they're insane! What the hell did we do to deserve all this?"

The pirate's words are interrupted as a rush of wind pushes him to the ground again, and he deftly pushes himself off the trajectory of the blond's sword and picks his own up to fight back, all before somebody resonates from behind the convoy. "Duck and cover, Gladbag!"

The blond crouches and a dagger pierces through the air to stab the bandit's shoulder, causing the enemy to wince and stagger backward. A woman with black hair comes grinning from behind the blond, as she pushes her blade off another pirate, her clothes stained red.

The other guy, albeit more collected, is plenty dangerous as well, turning to him and stabbing another bandit through the stomach with a sweep of his sword, barely turning to even see him falling. "I told you not to do that, you almost hit me again with your dagger!"

"Whoopsie daisy!" she giggles, getting closer to them as she kicks down a pirate. "Then you gotta be faster! I'm doing everything for you– but thanks! It's much more fun like this!" She seems to be having lots of fun, weirdly enough, and not even a wound can be seen in her body– nor on the other guy for that matter, and he's sure there must be somebody else hidden somewhere they can't reach, because there's a constant unfortunate breeze playing against them and pushing everyone down.

The pirate shakes his head as he clutches his shoulder. This outcome is unnatural. Two or three guys had come from nowhere – her from a tree, the other from behind said tree – and had begun fighting his workmates, all pirates of the same condition and skill, and everyone was falling like flies. An overconfident prick with a sword and a crazy chick with daggers, and probably a mage at the back spicing things up a little.

Nothing makes sense. "They're insane, we gotta run away! They're massacring us!"

Panting, he looks at his peer, who is taking steps back to begin their escape. "The boss is gonna kill us– for real, this time! We can't let them get closer to the base!"

"Do ya think I care? They don't pay me enough to give a shit about this!" he shrieks, and then begins to run deeper into the forest, in the direction the enemies are headed. Other of his kind are following suit and rushing to safety– some _crawling _and not walking, others not being able to walk at all.

The wounded bandit looks at the enemies as they step forward. Another guy, as expected, comes out of his hiding spot, a predictable staff clutched in his grasp. "Who the fuck are you!? What's yer' business here?"

"We just wanna get through. If you didn't offer resistance, we would be nice and polite about it." The woman spreads her hand with a frown. "Also, gimme that. You don't want that shoulder getting infected and all that, right?"

The childish grin she offers him is what seems to do the trick, as the guy very quickly unplugs the stained dagger from his shoulder, throwing it to the grass and shuffling away with the rest of his crew. The battlefield, which used to be riddled with bandits looking for a fight, is now completely empty. They hadn't even gotten to fight all of them, as most had run away when they saw the massacre occurring in the forest.

Moon sighs, walks forward and picks up the dagger. "And these are the famous pirates of the Blackring? What a joke."

Gladion withdraws his sword from a suspiciously unmoving body. "You say that as if you hadn't killed most of them unnecessarily." He gives it a thought, then shakes his head. "And almost killed me, too. We talked about the dagger throwing issue already."

As she cleans her blade with her shirt, Moon turns to him, grinning. "You gotta be faster and dodge it! I won't be warning ya' next time."

He wants to think she's joking. "How am I supposed to know when you're throwing it if you are constantly doing it from behind my back?"

"I don't know, teamwork power?" she says, shrugging a little.

"We have none of that," he responds, almost a lament, because their coordination has gotten only marginally better with time. Someday, she will end up stabbing him for real and the worst part is that he won't know if she did it on purpose or not.

And she shrugs again. "Then I hope you got good insurance back in your hometown! I suck at tending wounds and all that."

They clean their weapons in the same environment of bickering, more on his side than hers. She seems to be used to responding with the constant same impassivity and nonchalance of a kid, much to Hau's amusement and concern, as she's blissfully ignorant or _too _aware of the mess and havoc that lies around her.

Gladion sees him standing at the sidelines, watching the other two like a deer in the headlights. His eyes are wide and attentive, his staff still in his hands. His expression is unreadable, caught between what looks like concern and bewilderment at what he sees. The blond doesn't understand what that silence is for or where it comes from, and judging by how Moon is waiting for Hau to come to them, neither does she.

She perks up first. "You did pretty well out there, too," she compliments him cheekily. "You stole some nice pirates from me, but I forgive you."

Gladion looks at her in irritation. He wants to ask if she can say she forgives somebody for making her work easier, but judging by the number of casualties on the battlefield, she might actually be annoyed when being robbed of a victim, no matter how uncanny her way of showing that sentiment is. Gladion himself is aware that he's done quite a lot of damage, very close to Moon's amount, but if she's not counting, then neither is he.

He refuses to admit he's making a conscious effort to not let her have the upper hand skill-wise, and admitting to his rivalry with her would be too much of a burden for him to bear. And when he thinks about it, he also realizes that Hau has done little to no damage to his surroundings.

The few people who have died in the conflict have weapon marks on them and are full of blood. Most of that is due to Moon's gruesome methods of throat-cutting, but the lack of soft killing is what calls his attention the most.

Hau seems enthralled with them still. Moon walks up to him, smiling, a hand clasped on his shoulder. "Let's look for a place to camp. We gotta get some rest, and we'll hopefully get to the Outpost tomorrow."

"We would have already gotten there if you hadn't insisted on throwing our stealth strategy out the window," says Gladion in a perfect deadpan.

Moon, who is walking away from the battlefield, arches an eyebrow at him. "I'm not the one whose shoe caught with a twig and woke up the entire forest, Gladbag." He hisses in frustration at the memory of his mistake, causing her to grin at him until she catches the expression in Hau's face and the smile drops. "You okay, Hau?"

He's seemingly shaken out of his stupor, his eyes blinking into focus as his usual smile and laughter float up to the surface again and he shrugs whatever had been in his mind off. "Yeah! It's just that using magic sorta tires me out. I can't wait to get some sleep."

The woman nods and stretches her arms up. Gladion can't tell if the yawn she lets out is feigned or genuine, but what he knows for sure is that the silence she allows after his words are all but silent– there's a heavy feeling of thought under the pause.

Something is in her mind, something is in Hau's mind, and now it is in Gladion's mind, too.

* * *

It takes them ten whole minutes to decide where to camp. Moon and Gladion's back and forth about what is right and wrong in terms of distance to the Outpost makes the discussion longer than necessary, and they decide to follow Gladion's perspective after Hau very tactfully adds that it will be wiser.

Moon crawls her way up to the tree and chooses a branch of her liking. Gladion notices that she's stomping very heavily on the ones she does not want to sleep on, and chooses the highest one up the tree. When she's seated on her branch, much like a magpie, Gladion resumes his task of creating fire with sticks while Hau has something to eat.

When his eyes are off from her, Gladion notices Hau is grinning at him. He's not sure what that's supposed to mean.

"You guys are just jealous I got more bandits down." A small peelie from her apple falls to the grass, which Hau catches by instinct. Her words are muddled as she bites on her apple. "It's not fair we've camped so far away now."

"Stop being so impatient," mumbles Gladion, expression neutral as he blows on the stones and sticks. "We will get there tomorrow. And you will get your ass kicked, just as you wish."

He feels the blur of Moon's apple brush by his head. The fact that she didn't hit him, despite her impeccable aim, leads him to believe that was just a warning. "Now, don't be mean. My success means _your _success, too." He hears rustling from her side, and she's yanked a branch out of a tree and is chopping the leaves off. "We'll get there and kick _their _asses. They won't see me coming– I don't know about you, though."

Hau looks at her from the ground. "You're super fast. How do you even pull that off?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, you kinda dash through the field." Strangely for Gladion, he doesn't seem to be saying it as a compliment. Hau chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "It made my job a bit harder. I was scared of hitting you."

"Well, if I'm quick to dodge those guys' weapons, then I'll dodge your blasts too!"

Her words are cheery above them, but they sound terribly stupid in Gladion's head. "That's not what teamwork is about. There should be a minimal amount of communication so our fighting styles don't get in the way of each other's fights."

A chuckle from her. Gladion whips his head in her direction, eyes narrowed in askance. Hau interjects before Gladion can say anything else. "Well, your speed is super dope!" And then, he turns to Gladion. "And you're so… so skilled! Like, Moon is too, but you guys are _so _badass!"

Something in his words quivers. It would have gone unnoticed if it weren't for the fact that Gladion is looking at him from the corner of his eye and he sees a small grimace in his face when he's done, yet it disappears and turns into a grin again. Hau has been doing that a _lot _since they finished their battle with the buccaneers, and Gladion can't help but wonder what's up with that.

"Well, we're gonna need a lot of that if we wanna do things right." A chip of wood falls on the stone he is rubbing the stick against, and a spark comes up. "Tomorrow's gonna be a tough day. We'll have to raid the Outpost and head straight to the ship, or else the Kandrus might bust our asses in jail. If the Blackring doesn't do that first. Which they won't, of course."

Gladion lets out a sigh. "So you still want to simply raid the area? Like that? Without a plan?" Her silence is enough of an affirmation. "I hope you realize that they will be heavily guarded, and they undoubtedly expect us to pay them a little visit. If invading their camp will be hard, stealing the ship will be even harder."

"C'mon, we agreed to this!"

"We did, in a way," he pinches the bridge of his nose, "but I'm trying to make this a bit less crazy and more reasonable. Even though it's still a mad thing to do and I can see ourselves rotting in their jail forever."

"It will be heaps of fun!" The grin is obvious on her face, even now that he cannot see her. "We're aiming for the prize, Gladbag. We'll have the whole Outpost for ourselves to fight, and after sweeping the floor with their asses, we'll take not only a ship– but the _best _ship!" Her branch shifts as she gestures around her. "We're gonna need the biggest one to fend off any sea monster or any ship from the Blackring or the Kandrus!"

Gladion blinks, unfazed. "Insisting that the Blackring keeps monsters in their ships won't come true no matter how many times you repeat it."

"It's _totally _true! You're just scared of sharks biting you in the ass, Gladbag." The blond grunts a sigh, and she giggles to herself, all evil and little to no sweetness. It's uncanny how she couldn't look more frail and small but she's the human form of the apocalypse. "So, yeah, we're gonna take a lil' ship to not get caught. I mean, we might _not _be found by then, I don't think we will be found, but we gotta be safe. Better to be safe than sorry, right?"

Gladion resists the urge to roll his eyes. "You just sound eager to be busted and tortured by pirates in some dusty cell of their Outpost."

"Well, if they find me, you're coming with me, Gladbag!"

"Not in your wildest dreams."

"I mean, I'm fine with the plan," says Hau, prompting the bickering duo to turn their eyes to Hau, who is leaning against a log on the grass. "It sounds risky as hell, but we got no other option either, so..."

Moon swings her eyes to Gladion, who is already looking at her, ready to gauge her probably irrational reaction.

Her eyes are narrowed in childish suspicion. "You brainwashed him."

"He's simply being reasonable," Gladion says, feeding the fire with the twig he was using earlier to make the fire.

There's a measured silence that comes after that. Her dagger presumably carving a branch and the cracks of fire fill the space peacefully, the few chips of wood from her carving feeding the fire. When the pause becomes unnaturally long and her carving comes to a halt, Hau and Gladion turn to her.

When her eyes turn to them as well, there is a vast knowledge behind her eyes they can't quite shake off. The smile is absent from her face for a change, and all childish he's seen in her is substituted by the eyes of experience. "I assume you got a better plan, then? Other than raiding the place and running away."

Gladion is sad to say he doesn't. He's at a loss of what to do, really, and as much as he doesn't like Moon's idea in the first place and he likes to call himself a strategist – which he rightfully is – they actually don't have another option. He's been running behind Moon's plans and unconsciously cheering her on by humoring her wishes, he knows that much.

And looking back, he's gotten exactly what he asked from this journey: experience, the undeniable continuous thrill at the expense of following her and training. His ultimate goal is far from achieved. While they had been close to dying a few times, Gladion can't say he would have learned any more than this if things had turned out to be different.

But that doesn't mean he will withstand Moon's childish impulses, because as much as he's impulsive as well, his urges don't risk them getting killed. "We don't. You might not be fond of your life, but I am. I don't know what business you have to do there, but I still have things to do after we are through with this."

Another pause ensues, and Moon is smirking. "That's so boring." And then, a sigh, breathy and almost dreamy in the way she's complacent with his plans, for once. "But I got stuff to do, too. You just wanna stand back and let me do all the work, don't you?"

"Actually, that would be the smart thing to do. Being beside you on the battlefield is a death hazard on itself."

A toothy grin. "And lots of fun!"

"That's questionable."

"How are you guys so brave?"

A second of silence, their talking interrupted in favor of surprise as Hau's timid voice breaks through the banter. He's watching them with wide eyes, but his body looks ever so small. It's like he's shrinking the more time that passes, his lips pressed to a thin line and eyebrows sunken in frustration, worry, and a thousand more feelings that Gladion can see in his ever so sincere eyes.

Seeing this silence, he's encouraged to elaborate. "It's just so hard for me to throw myself into battle, y'know? It might be because I fight mostly from the back or whatever, but I just can't get into it as much as you guys do. I don't get how you guys pull it off so easily. Whenever I see one of the dudes you guys go against, I get all jittery and stuff."

Another pause of analysis ensues– not as much of an analysis as it's more of a realization. Gladion sees images in his head: Hau fidgeting to fight or hurt anyone, him standing hidden in the back, the lack of impact to his magic when they trained in Bleakdross, the many silences that followed said training sessions because, in the end, Hau was an amnesiac fighter, a good one at that, but just as naïve and inexperienced as Gladion himself, probably–

"You're scared, aren't you?"

Moon puts his thoughts into words very carefully, voice oddly low and nearly understanding. Both men look back to see her dangling her legs from the branch, facing them, balancing what seems to be a small spear wooden point on her hand. Hau stiffens visibly, grimacing, but she's quick to dismiss said reaction and jump down to their level.

She tosses the wooden piece to the fire. She plops on the ground, legs crisscrossed. "It's okay. Being afraid, and all that. I used to be like that too when I began traveling," she says, nodding. "I had assumed you're a bit of a rookie when it comes to fighting and all that jazz."

"Was it that obvious?"

"You're just slower than I and Gladbag are." With this serious situation they have in their hands, the aforementioned can't get annoyed at the nickname. "I assumed it was because of your profession. You fight from the back, so at first I thought you were just… doing your thing, y'know. Standing back and all."

Hau nods slowly. He fidgets with the hem of his old shirt as he speaks. "Well, yeah, it _is _what I do. But I don't do well with getting hurt– it might be because I've had some very… _unprofessional _doctors treating my stuff in the past, but that's a trauma for another day," he says as Moon blinks steadily in stupefaction at that bit, just as Gladion listens intently. "I just don't wanna get hurt. I ain't that good at what I do, after all."

"What do you mean?" asks Moon, the closest to irritated they have seen her. "You're a very cool sorcerer. Sure, I don't know jackshit about magic and all that, but all I've seen you do is kick people _and _totems where it hurts." That last one reels a small chuckle out of Hau. "Where's all this insecurity coming from?"

Gladion shoots her a warning glare. "Moon, don't be nosy."

Her sideways glance is certainly tense and harsh. "I'm not being nosy. I'm just trying to offer help." She blinks, and then her eyes fix on the fire. A wolf howls in the distance. "Arceus knows I'm not the best at this but–"

"It helps," claims Hau, a tense, flat smile stretching across his face. "As I said earlier, you two rock at what you do. It might also be because of that that I feel sorta… subpar? I know it ain't cool to compare myself, but I can't help but think I might be dragging you two down and all that."

Moon and Gladion share a look, a very short one. She looks surprised by this, but he's just as unbothered as usual. Not because he's not concerned by this, but because he doesn't have that many resources to help Hau and Moon is doing an admittedly decent job at carrying the conversation. Gladion might be proud but he's more sensible than arrogant about what he can and _cannot _do, and he's not an emotional reliability in the slightest.

"You aren't slowing us down," she says very confidently. Gladion's curt nod shows agreement with this. Moon points at herself with her thumb, grinning. "Besides, if you were slowing me down, I'd have left you in the trash already. I couldn't care less about slowpokes."

Hau turns to Gladion for reassurance. "Trust her, she's not lying," the blond murmurs, sighing. "She considers everything and anything a good riddance."

Weirdly enough it's _her _who tenses this time, but the vision is gone as soon as it comes. "In any case, you're fine, Hau. We have different fighting styles and as Gladbag pointed out in his _oh _so very eloquent manners," Gladion groans at that, "we can clash sometimes, but it all comes from differences we gotta polish."

The swordsman crosses his arms. "And your absurd refusal to cooperate with anybody who can't keep up with your speed."

"That's still up to debate," she responds off-handedly, then focuses on Hau again, "But that's all there is to it. Is there any other reason you feel like this?"

Hau hesitates to continue talking. Doubt is written all over his face and Gladion wonders if Moon has pushed him too far, if he will finally clam up like Gladion himself would have by now, but he's sighing and pushing his shoulders down as he rolls the fabric of his shirt around his index finger, thinking about what to say next.

"I got amnesia." It's a statement too stagnant to be it, so they let him continue. "I… got no clue how, or _why _I got it, but I still have it. I was supposedly washed in by the river and I had come from a fight– which means I _lost _that fight. That's one hell of a bummer. If I lost that fight, then that means I must've been a rookie or a clumsy mess to get myself into this!"

"That's _bullshit_."

His words come out of his mouth without a warning and he's met with the instant reactions of one piercing glare and a much weaker flinch. Moon's coal eyes have turned faintly harder and scrutinizing, and her body is turned in his direction. "_Gladion_."

"It is what it is." His refusal to apologize comes even harsher. "I don't know what happened to you, but it could have been anything that caused you to lose the battle– you might not even have lost a battle; maybe you just got injured whilst being thrashed by the currents of the river."

"The wounds were too sev–"

"What Gladion is trying to say here," she interrupts them both, a hand raised almost menacingly, "is that you can't let yourself be controlled by the past. We know what you can do, and if you had been that weak, you would've been dead by now. Probably."

"_Very _probably."

A thick gulp of compromise falls down Hau's throat. "Yeah, but I still lost, didn't I? I probably left a lot of people behind because I was too incompetent." His expression ranges from insecure to saddened now, his mind probably caught in a net too enmeshed and complicated for any of them to understand. "I probs had a family, friends, maybe even a girlfriend and a maybe a _kid _or some stuff! Dude, that's so many people I failed, right? They're _too _many."

A beat of silence. The nightmares he speaks of are terrifyingly familiar to Gladion: there is this nagging fear of having lost a family, his ingrained feeling of incompetence for not doing anything about it, and hell, maybe even some frustration at not knowing what he's forgotten about, all that he left behind in his broken childhood.

However, their ways of manifesting said fears are very different, Gladion notices, as where he feels frustration, Hau is insecure and seemingly scared.

"Hau," Moon calls almost sternly– the hardest Gladion has ever seen her, probably moved by the situation. If she sympathizes with this to a personal degree is unknown. "You can't blame yourself for getting amnesia. You don't know what happened."

"I know it's not okay, but there ain't no way to fix it," he says through a grimace. "It's not like I'll find my family anytime soon, so I gotta stop being a baby and–"

"I understand that."

Moon and Hau turn to Gladion and watch him close his eyes, arms folded even tighter around his chest than earlier– a sign of tension, of defensiveness, of his brain not wanting him to speak despite his heart wanting to say this truth he's had inside for a while.

"The loss of a family, and not knowing what state you left them in. I get that."

Moon's head is tilted in a way that asks _how_, and he deems it's high time he speaks up about it. Cooperating and being honest now will help Hau, and that means helping tomorrow's situation, and then his future plans– but he admittedly isn't looking that far ahead, at least not consciously when he speaks.

"I get it because it's what I'm doing. I'm... looking for my family, too– well, you aren't really looking for yours, but that's beside the point." Gladion gulps but pushes himself to continue for the sake of everything he's not willing to admit to himself just yet. "I also don't know what state I left my family in, but it frustrates me a lot, too. It… sucks. I can understand that."

The way he ends so abruptly belies that there is much more than what meets the eye, and clearly they aren't listening intently enough to tell those emotions in his eyes– the conflict, the guilt, and so much more he won't even dare touch, because his emotions are like skating on thin ice– the layer might break and he might fall to his demise.

Moon's eyes are wide, almost _concerned_. "What happened? If you wanna talk about it, that is."

"I don't really know. I just woke up somewhere and my godfather picked me up." Though calling him a godfather is a bit of a stretch, but he doesn't need to say that. "I one day found a small pendant and a picture, but the paint is blurry so its only purpose is to tell me I _have _a family. Or… used to, maybe."

A wide silence invades the scene after that. Moon's eyes linger on him for a bit longer, as if absorbing the information, overlooking the gaps he's purposefully left unsaid, then nodding curtly, dim gratitude and acknowledgment moving with that gesture.

"What I'm trying to say is… that I get the feeling of not knowing what you left behind. I don't know if it helps much, but–"

Hau shakes a hand dismissively, a smile breaking through– though this smile is much more soulless than what he'd usually wear. "It _totally _helps. I'm thankful you said all that, it's hard to find someone to relate to… sorta." Gladion nods. "I really hope your parents are alive and well."

And he does, too, but that's not the point. "Besides, you are a new person now," Moon says, her speech discontinued like it's been in her head for a while. "You said you learned sorcery after the accident, right? You're probably super strong now– like, you're _badass _now!"

Her grin gives him confidence, suddenly, his head darting from her to Gladion quickly, seeking final approval. "Really?"

Gladion agrees with a hum, smirking. "You're doing fine. Don't let the goofy assassin here get impatient, though."

And she smirks as well, much to his surprise, almost appreciative rather than teasing. "You're getting soft, Gladbag. Sleep deprivation is doing catastrophes on you." And it expands into a grin. "You'll fall behind and I'll get impatient if you don't sleep enough!"

An angry grinning Moon makes him tense up and frown, his hand balled into a fist on his knee. "You wish. I would rather throw myself off a cliff than letting you have your way with my decaying body."

"They aren't mutually exclusive, you know!"

And they dissolve into easy banter that makes Hau laugh, makes her grin and makes Gladion angry– everything is in harmony, and even as he gets pissed at Moon's umpteenth commentary about his boring tactics and he reproaches her for her daredevil ones, they come to an agreement for tomorrow's plans and Hau can finally sleep.

He's a heavy sleeper, that much they can tell, for when Moon yawns – she does this very loudly – he doesn't even budge. "Hau adores sleeping. He'll be out 'til next morning."

"Probably so," Gladion grumbles as he takes out his– well, _their _blanket.

The rhinestones catch the light of the on-going fire, probably calling Moon's attention too. When she looks at the blanket, her eyes turn to him as well. "I'm thankful you told Hau all that. He's gonna need that confidence tomorrow."

"Eh. It's whatever." He moves a bit away from the fire and lies down on the grass, eyes flickering to the stars in the sky. The trees' ceilings have split apart to show a patch of the moonlit night, clouds of blue gliding across the view. "It's not a big deal."

"It was for him," Moon declares, something gentle in her words that betray either exhaustion or emotion– but then she's yawning, and the spell breaks with it. "Also, you better not drop bombs so big on a guy when they're vulnerable. That was rude of you, even if the rest was nice."

Gladion takes a few mental steps back to when he called Hau's situation _bullshit_– yeah, definitely not his smoothest. "It was true, though."

"Yep, it was, but there are ways to say things. You got some fancy words on your dictionary but they for sure aren't on your brain, eh?" Her commentary makes him grit his teeth and ball his hands into fists, but she ignores his uptight posture and gets up, hands on her hips and looking up at her branch. "Anyway, I'm off to… my branch. Don't make too much noise, a lady needs her beauty sleep."

"Whatever."

Moon presses her shoe to the bark, then halts, hands suspended in mid-air as something dawns on her like she has another last thing to say.

"Also," she doesn't turn to him, but he does to her, and finds her to be visibly idle and tight, yet her voice is only a murmur, "I'm glad to know you're not made of stone. You can be really tough sometimes."

Her words take a few seconds to settle, and when they do, he has no time to answer to those oddly correct and meaningful words, for she's climbing up the tree and getting ready to sleep, Gladion's eyes on her all the time as he wonders what exactly she meant with that.

And then comes a cool minty breeze, the only thing to convince him that getting sleep after a day this long is a good idea. Maybe things aren't as bad as they once seemed, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter but it's super obvious that at the time I SUCKED ASS at writing these sort of 'sit around the fire confession' scenes because IT JUST SHOWS LMAO but I really like Hau's chapter, especially because he's not perfect he's a lil' scared but he will grow up and we have LOTS OF TIME FOR HIM TO GROW SO /rubs hands
> 
> Also did Gladion just confess around 30% of his backstory. Who is this man. He's growing up but he's gonna take it really slowly so BE READY TO WAIT UNTIL STH LIKE THIS HAPPENS AGAIN LMAO
> 
> definitely this is NEVER gonna come back in a future chapter
> 
> totally
> 
> I'm NOT gonna take advantage of Hau's cowardice
> 
> nah


	16. The Tiger of the Ocean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion, Moon and Hau learn what defeat tastes like: it's bitter. And bloody.

The following day comes with the sun rolling and wind picking up at the hills. The patch of trees, grass, and stones between Altaria Bay and the Blackring Outpost barely classifies as a forest, but Gladion likes to think of it as such. The map he always read back in Ludwig Town didn't mention this section of the woods existed, nor if it counts as an extension of Everspring Woods or not; but Moon is confidently leading the way, mindful to warn them of any danger if she ever spots a buccaneer making the rounds.

The absolute lack thereof is driving Gladion up a wall, but he keeps himself in check. Last night had been peaceful enough for him to wake up today with newfound hope for the outcomes of today's risky mission. Today is what all of these adventures would boil down to, along with the very out of reach hope for a prize from Gemstone Village.

Considering they are currently being chased by Kandrus soldiers around the whole Dominion, it's safe to assume they won't be seeing that money anytime soon, regardless of the outcome of this mission. Gladion bites his cheek in annoyance.

"The Outpost must be… about a minute or so away. It should come into view in no time," she turns her head in Gladion's direction. A wicked grin of pure joy spreads on her face. "Aren't you _excited_?"

"Not particularly, no," he grumbles, and hears Hau laugh along to Moon as she turns again and walks a bit faster, prompting Gladion to think she's seen something they haven't. "You better not go off on your own. Knowing you, they will spot us right away if you go on a spree like you did last time."

"Last time was different!" Moon insists. "Besides, you repeated the plan so many times I'll be hearing it in my sleep."

Hau grins at her from a side, hands behind his back as he walks. Most of the distress he had shown last time is gone now, and his walking is carefree and nearly _happy_. "Dude, same. I learned more vocabulary in one sole night than in my entire life."

Gladion grunts. "Not like you knew that much vocabulary in the first place."

Hau pouts at him, yet the childishness in his expression reveals that he isn't taking him seriously– much as Moon does, and he wonders if it's because of her that nobody takes his jabs that seriously anymore or he's just lost his touch. It irritates him anyway.

The sorcerer is actually about to say something but both are suddenly stopped by Moon's arms being outstretched, and as they look ahead, they see the path becoming beaten, the sky opening at the end of the way and wooden barricades spreading around the surroundings of the Outpost. It's surrounded by walls of wooden logs and flags flap in the wind, dark with a skull drawn in them.

"So… we're here," murmurs Gladion, swallowing a light gulp. He looks to his right: Hau is staring at the view with parted lips, whereas Moon looks content, watching the scenery with shocking nonchalance, but he can see a twinge of excitement in her wide eyes.

She looks up and points up to a tree. "You said we gotta be stealthy, right? I'll take this route."

He surveys her planned path, or what he thinks she's planning. The trees have a decent distance between them, but the branches that extend far beyond reach look sturdy and enmesh with the other trees.

Hau twists his mouth. "Won't you fall off?"

"If I wanna be sneaky and light, I'm gonna have to be high up to move freely," she explains, pointing at the path, then the tree. "I'm not gonna let them get me. I think I made that pretty clear yesterday. I don't know how you two are gonna manage, but I got all faith in–"

"We're coming with you."

Gladion's sudden blunt declaration makes Moon nearly stagger back in shock, and Hau's eyes widen to saucers. "Dude, what's with that change of heart?"

"I don't have an issue admitting when an idea is reasonable– even though it really _isn't_, but it's stealthy enough." His eyes dart to the path behind the tree line they are facing, sighing. "I had planned to go behind the trees and surprise them, but walking _above _them instead of _by _them might be a much better idea."

Moon says nothing, as though stunned to silence by his honesty, but she shakes it off and nods, grinning. At this point, the smiles seem to come by impulse rather than conscious emotion.

"I'm all in for you following me around like a puppy," she says, turning to the tree and pressing her palms against the dents on the bark. "But you gotta keep up with me! No slacking off!"

"Man, if you two're going up, I gotta do that too!" He rushes before Gladion, set to follow Moon and jumping on his place from side to side. "No time to get scared, right? Let's get moving before I get cold feet!"

"You for sure won't get cold feet if you don't stop moving," grumbles Gladion under his breath, and when Hau asks for clarification, he ignores him. "Let's make it quick. We will also get a glimpse of what the Outpost looks like."

Moon is starting to climb up when he says this. Gladion observes her technique curiously from below. While he had simply addressed her as a pretty skilled climber, her moves barely classify as _climbing _as much as she's rubbing herself up the log, and then she's sliding to a side and jumping to a big branch after skipping a few others, then using said branches to launch herself around– something she seems more proficient in.

Hau, however, climbs more quickly than her. Moon has barely made it to the top when the other is halfway through the distance, pushing himself up with a strength that makes Gladion feel weak in comparison. Granted, Hau is a bit bulkier than him and Moon is more gracious, but he's more _intelligent_– or so he thinks. He observes the technique: arms around the tree, feet on the sides of the log, a push, rinse and repeat.

Gladion rubs his palms. Hau is now on the top, waving at him. "C'mon, Gladbag, don't be a slow grandma!"

Moon snickers from the top as well, hands on her hips. "He's a total slowpoke. We should take a nap while he gets here."

_That _is what ticks him off and pushes him to the tree. The bark doesn't have as many dents as Moon's ascent had led him to believe, and the surface isn't as smooth as it had looked when Hau climbed. It seems like everything that could have made it easy is gone, so he curses and grabs the tree, slowly pushing himself up. His shirt catches on the few twigs springing from the bark, creating a few rips plus some patches of dirt, but he manages and reaches the top fairly quickly.

Moon is sitting on a branch, waiting. "I should've let that guy from Gemstone Village train with me a little. He said he knew better ways than mine to climb trees, what a bummer."

The blond pushes himself up to the treetop, pushing his fringe out of the way for a second, then sighing. His issue with his hair had just gotten worse lately. "What guy?"

"Some guy who was just idling the market. Very weird guy." Her vague words don't ring a bell on them, though the distinct image of a bearded man with a ponytail and a long white robe does come to mind. "Anyway, let's get jumping. We gotta be light on our feet."

Hau and Gladion observe the path ahead, if what stretches before them can be called that. It's a complicated mess of branches and twigs, leaves above them and below them, yet sparser the further they go forward. He knows better than to look down and scare himself into vertigo, but Hau _does _look down and gulps audibly.

"Please, promise you know what you're doing, Moon."

"Of course I do!" she claims proudly, putting a foot on the base of a branch. "My best advice is that you guys just _sprint_, y'know? Because if you go slowly, the branch might give in and you'll fall to the ground."

"_What_!?" whispers Hau, jaw squared. "Yikes! You make it look so easy!"

She does, jogging up and down on the big branch like it's nothing. Surely enough she's light enough to be supported on the branches no matter its width and swift enough for her weight to not even be noticed. Gladion wants to think he will be light enough to not have any issues with this activity– after all, he's on the skinny side of the scale.

Hau and he might have a similar complexion, but Gladion has seen him eat a whole day's meal worth in one sitting– he _must _be stronger than him, and thus a bit bigger.

Moon, in fact, addresses this, but much more innocently than recommended. "Well, if you fall, you can always grab onto one of those vines and swing to the Outpost."

"And that would make our stealthy trespassing completely useless," remarks Gladion, arms folded.

"That too! But he wouldn't die and that's fine," Moon skips a step ahead, and the branch heaves down a little. "Okay, let's get speeding. I'm not gonna babysit you so please watch after yourselves."

Hau hesitantly presses a foot where she had been standing some seconds ago, then grins nervously. "Says the one inviting us to jump from tree to tree like birds," he says good-naturedly.

In the way she rushes and leaps to a branch, precariously balancing herself on the end of it, Moon clearly doesn't give a fuck about his observation. "Says the one who is going along with this."

Their advances turn slow and careful, much to Moon's disdain. She speeds back and forth through the maze of branches like it's a kid's game when in reality the path proves itself to be a challenge– much like skipping stones, but without the fun part where one can break their neck and simply float. If one of them slipped and fell, they would very likely be met with death or a very serious concussion.

They advance even slower as they progress and see that the barricades of buccaneers are under them. Moon does not make any comments about this even when she looks down and nods to herself, then moves back to check on her companions even though she swore not to babysit them. Gladion and Hau stop when they reach a stable point, then rush through the branches and stop again. Hau stumbles a couple of times and rushes around in bursts of speed, whereas Gladion keeps himself calm and jogs through steadily.

Moon watches him with wide eyes, sitting on a branch leisurely. "You're much abler than I thought. I had expected you to have fallen at this point," she says with an easy smile, watching Hau catch up too.

He doesn't count that as a good thing, deeming it to be more of a camouflaged jab than an earnest compliment. In fact, he frowns at her and curls his lips sourly. "You could have told us about the bees, though."

"I didn't notice them the first time I came here," she amends with a little innocent grin. "Besides, a sting or two might give you guys the push in the right direction."

Hau catches just the tail end of the conversation and pouts at her. "D'you mean death's direction?"

"Don't put words in my mouth that I didn't say. That's mean!"

They eventually make it, casualties and death avoided. It doesn't come as a surprise that Moon is waiting for them at the end of the line, as she ended up getting tired of waiting and just skipping ahead. Gladion can't understand how she made it there so quickly, sitting nonchalantly on a higher branch as they arrive at the end, but he chalks it up to years of practice and constant falling– nobody is born an expert, as they say.

The three are perched on a wide branch, concealed by the sparse leaves of the tree. The Outpost is circular and much smaller than Gladion had anticipated. It has a big watchtower to the right, prominent in its height, similar to that of the giant tree they are perched on. There are tents colored red and black scattered to the left side of the circular camp, and Moon's eyes seem to be set on the money, licking her lips: two ships are docked at the pier, swaying gently with the morning breeze and waves.

There is another crucial detail that his eyes don't overlook: there are _lots _of pirates down there. Many more that Gladion could have ever imagined, moving around like busy ants in a terrarium. He's never seen a crowd this big in his life, and all of them are _hostile _towards him. If he's seen, they will undoubtedly cut his throat and throw him to the sea to rot.

Moon sits, Hau observes, both silent and ignorant of what all of this means. So many people, _too _many. Too many enemies, too much danger all of a sudden, causing his chest to tighten, and Gladion feels his lungs and throat burn, causing him to cough and grip his shirt. The place is small and he can distinctly see their weapons drawn out, so he wills himself to look away. A dull ache settles at the back of his head, and then there's pain, _pain, __**pain**_**–**

A hand on his shoulder. A voice blowing past the angry pulsing in his head. "Gladion. It's fine."

His eyes begin to clear out, and he doesn't notice that his cheeks had gotten wet and that his comrades had gotten closer and were inspecting him attentively. "Dude, get a grip. It's fine, we're fine."

"Yeah," Moon's hand on his shoulder gives a squeeze he's somewhat grateful for. "I know it might be a bit overwhelming, it's normal to feel like this."

"What–" A pant. The feeling begins to fade away, pain nulling and his eyes recovering their focus. "What was that?"

"Probably a panic attack," says Hau breathily, earning a nod from Moon. "You ain't used to the crowds, it's normal. Focus on breathing, count to three, close your eyes."

Moon counts out loud with him with a soft voice, and he feels himself calm down very slowly. His heart isn't pumping as fast anymore, and his chest doesn't hurt either, but his brain registers the experience all the same and stabs itself with the sudden realization that Gladion might be brave, but he's a rookie, and unlike Moon and Hau, he's never done something this big before.

Moon and Hau are fine on different degrees; she's perfectly still and composed, but the sun throws light on Hau's glistening sweat accumulating on his temple, and his hand is shaking as it rests on his lap. Gladion only makes these observations as he tries to grab his bearings, and by the time he realizes that he's not the only one losing his shit over this, he breathes a bit easier.

"Listen," whispers Moon, probably aware that being cheeky and teasing about this won't help, "Those guys got nothing on you. They're all rookies and what is intimidating you the most is that they're _confined_, but they are fewer people than what we'll fight."

Gladion hears hesitance in the way she speaks, but not because she lacks confidence in what she says, but probably because she's not that used to dealing with situations as delicate as these.

"Yeah, totally," agrees Hau. "Most of 'em will run away when they see us jump into the battle, I bet! And you'll hold yourself against them just fine! We know you're capable of that and more."

"You…" a pant, "don't need to tell me all of this."

Gladion believes he doesn't deserve these kind words. He's aware he's been rather unkind to them both all this time– however, Moon never needed to calm him down and talk him out of his panic attack, and nor did Hau. She might be independent and aloof and Hau might be scared, but they still pushed through and are with him.

It's weird.

They are weird people.

"Dude, you went outta your way yesterday to help me out, right? Why wouldn't I do the same?" he nods, grinning, despite the very telling fact that his lips are quivering and nervousness clings to him like a rag. "Sure, you're pretty damn cold and kind of a jerk–"

"_Thanks_."

"–But I'd be losing my shit if it weren't thanks to you two, so I owe you one. That's how these things work, y'know– one day it's for me, and the other, it'll be for you. You scratch my back today, I'll scratch yours tomorrow."

That philosophy is foreign to him, but Moon nods with a subtle smile and Gladion believes him. Hau and Moon might be annoying little shits, one too slow and one too fast, but they have shown him certain kindness in different ways– well, Moon has been sort of a loose bullet every time they work together, but she had shown him a gentle side to her that revealed that she's not all laughing and being a murderous disaster.

Thank you, he wants to say.

"I… see," is what he ends up saying, and in a very hoarse and low voice. "That's interesting."

"It's called gratitude, Gladbag," the nickname brings him back to his senses, and judging by how Moon grins at him, that might have been the sole purpose of calling him like so. "It's what traveling buddies do."

He nods. He's aware that she could have thrown jokes around, and dutifully notes down that she hasn't.

He smirks at her, rare and expressing gratitude for her help. "Sounds fair."

Moon nods back, understanding flickering in her eyes before she turns back to business. "The big watchtower is where their commander must be. But we gotta sneak past the entrance somehow. We can't jump in."

Gladion clears his throat. "Maybe if we…" He trails off, then tries again. "If we get the guys closest to the entrance, the ones further down the path will get scared and run away. It happened in Everspring Woods, it might happen again."

"That sounds like a plan! See, you got this in you," Hau cheers a bit unnecessarily, bumping his fist with Gladion's shoulder, causing the other to flinch. "I bet it'll go fine! We just gotta work together."

"Please don't do that thing again. My shoulder is sore."

"We just gotta go and wing it," says Moon tactfully, eyes flickering all over the Outpost's structure. "We will follow the plan: sneak our way in, hopefully take down all the guards in the pier, and run with the ship."

"As long as we stay alive, we will have succeeded," deadpans Gladion, looking over but avoiding the crowds, so he just focuses on the buildings.

"Let's survive, then." Hau offers them a big smile.

"And take the ship," Moon adds. "I need the ship."

"Sure thing! We'll take the ship too." Hau's overbearing confidence feels forced, but he rocks the attitude. It feels less bothersome than him being insecure, and Moon being bossy and impulsive feels just as harmonic in its annoyance. The familiarity makes things look easier, in a way, and he's thankful for that. "I say I try to throw them a spell and knock a few out. Or I can just stay up here and help out."

They agree to this, and Hau is getting ready to shoot as he takes his staff out and murmurs something, Moon encouraging him as Gladion stares off into the distance.

Words erupt out of his mouth nearly without his consent, firm and managing to sound stern.

"I know we aren't friends but… I'm glad you guys are around now. I have never done this sort of stuff before."

And he means it with every fiber of his heart. While part of him couldn't care much about these people, another is aware of how much they have helped him out– he doesn't want to admit this in particular, but he wouldn't be half as ready if it weren't for her pushing his boundaries. He's secretly thankful for that.

The girl arches an eyebrow at him. "Do you think I do this for a living?" Moon asks, giving her a side-eyed gaze of narrowed bite.

"You haven't lead me to think otherwise."

Another nod. A word of courage, Moon saying _good luck _to both of them, one knife between her teeth and another on her hand, eyeing her prey like a wolf getting ready to bite on its victim. Hau calls out a word, a light shines on his staff, and a ball of fire lands straight at the entrance with a loud knock of impact, surrounded by the screams of people running away as predicted.

Moon, probably encouraged by a rush of adrenalin, _jumps _off the branch, despite having told her companions earlier that such could kill them. "Good morning, fellow pirates!" she yells, already taking care of one poor guy using her knife, disarming him with sharp dexterity. "We need one of your ships! Let us through, we wanna talk to your manager!"

Gladion is much tamer than her and uses a branch to fling himself off from a much more reasonable height, grunting as he pushes his sword into a bandit that had already come for his blood. "Quit yipping, we aren't here to talk!"

"You just wanna make it more boring because we couldn't sneak in in the end!" Gladion watches her kick two guys on the chest with two kicks of her legs, and then punch another on their jaw. "Let me have some fun!"

They continue their attack on the Outpost's entrance as they had previously agreed to. Moon and Gladion had had problems in the past with interfering with each other's field of work, so they had this time agreed to split the battlefield into two halves. Moon had warned them that she would throw daggers around, but _only _when necessary. He's not sure what she means by this, but he interprets it as her promising to be careful– maybe a little too much to ask for, but it still counts as progress.

Some bandits run away, seeing the massacre that they are harvesting in the field. Gladion's sword is relentless, and in a fit of anger at a buccaneer that had taken towards Moon after running away from him, his sword travels the distance to the chest and impales him to the ground, and as he's running to retrieve the weapon, a dagger flies right past his shoulder as Moon covers his back with a much better-coordinated attack.

Moon throws him his sword, just as he tosses her the bloody dagger. Hau cheers on them from above as a blast of light lands on the upcoming bandits that are rushing from other parts of the forest. "Thank Arceus I saw you throwing that dagger. We had an agreement."

"I was careful enough for you to be safe, you worrywart!" Moon bites back with a wicked grin, her words are muddled by effort as she fights with a troublesome guy with a sword, but she's able to cross-fend the blade off of her and kick the guy on the stomach, then slice his stomach and throat, spraying blood everywhere. "You should follow my example and get quicker, Gladbag!"

"Ugh. You're annoying." But, in his inner glee that things are going slowly, the punch lacks bite.

And then, things start to go wrong. Or, rather, the doors to the Outpost open and all recruits retreat and run into the Outpost. What comes forward is equal parts terrifying and gross, causing Moon to take a step back. "What the…"

A monster drenched in a soggy, slick liquid comes out on two of its feet, much like an alligator with a long tail, green skin and the sharpest teeth imaginable, hunched over and causing its fins to sparkle in the sunlight. Its claws are long, digging themselves into the soil as it advances and causes the ground to almost tremble under the warriors.

The creature screeches, the bandits cheer, and Moon and Gladion look at each other in indecision as the creature suddenly rushes at them, and the two invasors split apart, jumping to avoid the creature. Moon tries to counter-attack it by jumping on its back, but its skin is too slick for her to hold on, and so she slips off and is thrown to a side as well.

Gladion dashes right after her, but Moon is already on the chase to get revenge on the way she had been tossed to the side, and their weapons clash on the same spot, causing a deep wound on the giant alligator, which screams in agony and thrashes as Moon and Gladion clumsily fall back.

For all grace and speed Moon shows often, she seems taken aback by this demonic creature, and barely dodges a tail being flapped in her direction, which she uses to her advantage to climb up the alligator's back, and digs her daggers on its side as she's slipping.

The creature spins in search of its offender, and all it finds is Gladion aiming for a killing blow on its chest, which he lands expertly to spray blood out. The creature wails even further and the bandits are about to run away, terrified of what they are seeing, but it recovers soon enough and tosses Moon and Gladion out of the way again.

Its wounds are closing at a staggering speed. They don't have a strategy for this, and Hau, for some reason, is not–

Gladion looks up and finds Hau to be unconscious, arms hanging limply from the branch he was standing on, two bandits tying his arms down.

"Hey, what are ya suckers doin' to my _baby_?"

Something metallic wraps around Gladion's ankle, yanks at it and pushes him to the ground. He hears Moon fall with a thud and a yelp of pain, her daggers falling to the ground with her. The ground is warm against his cheek and the alligator has calmed down, yet it still eyes them like it's about to have a full-course meal, licking its teeth predatorily.

Funny how that's a gesture he's seen Moon do, but she seems to be at a loss of words. There's still panic to show up in her face, though.

Breathing jaggedly after the fall, they twist their bodies to see a woman stepping between them, their ankles wrapped around two whips she's holding on one single hand. The first thing Gladion sees are needle black heels, followed by black trousers, then a deep red top under an oversized purple jacket with big dark fur. Two streams of dark pink and orange hair spring out of two withered skull ornaments, and bright snake eyes flash towards them as she whips her head around to meet her opponents.

"Hm. I guess I underestimated ya' two… well, three," she says as she turns to her side, watching Hau be thrown from half the tree's height unceremoniously, "Ya' dumbasses, be careful with the guy!"

Her voice is commanding and powerful, echoing all across the battlefield. Moon is staring at Hau the whole time, eyes widening in the realization that the whole team has been caught. Gladion witnesses her heart fall through her stomach just by the dip of her eyes, and he feels a shudder run down his spine as his ankle is tugged at and the woman sheds a hum of disapproval.

"Ya' thought you could run from ol' Commander Plumeria, eh?" Despite the cruelty in her actions, her face is weirdly calm and composed. "They don't call me Plumeria of the Deep for nothin', kids. Ya' sure got some guts."

Moon winces as she looks at the woman, one eye closed. "Do you think you can kick us down all you wanna? We'll fight back!"

Gladion tries to follow suit with her as they wiggle to free themselves from the woman's whip, but it's to no use. Moon, however, has picked herself up and tries to dash towards the woman with her dagger ready, all too quick for Plumeria to see her coming, but reflexes kick in quick and Moon is on the ground again with a harsh tug from the woman at her whip.

Moon's head is pushed to the ground by Plumeria's boot. "Ohoho, we got a very noisy mermaid here. Ya' got some nerve to try to throw a fit when ya' got my baby all beaten up. This ain't a kid's game."

As Plumeria speaks and pushes Moon's head further down into the soil, Gladion is slowly reaching for his sword, yet his actions are stopped by another blade being pointed to the back of his throat, making the hair there stand at attention and make his eyes widen. Gladion's two arms are grabbed, pushing him to a sitting position as a blade grazes the pale skin of his throbbing pulse.

They have been busted.

They have been _utterly_ and absolutely defeated and it was all because they weren't quick enough.

"Heh."

Moon's mirthless cackle pushes his attention away from his own threat to see Moon's hand grabbing the woman's ankle, and managing to knock the woman off from her. She staggers back to gain some balance again but finds Moon to be standing up on her feet, one foot on the whip's hard thread and her other leg tugging at it in one swift motion to finally free her ankle from the grip.

Gladion can barely see Moon move, as she dashes through the air like the wind. Her lack of talking leads him to believe she must be growing tense, for there are no teases yet the grin prevails over everything else.

Moon kicks Plumeria to the outer walls of the Outpost, grinning with her hands on her hips. "You sure aren't a cheap shot! I thought all Blackring bandits were novices but look at you!"

The guys holding Gladion back are distracted by the apparent defeat of their boss, which prompts Gladion to take advantage of that and kick the two of them on their jaws with his bare fists, then grab his sword and stand up, surprising Moon herself, who nods approvingly.

Everyone is tense. Hau is motionless, a few feet behind them. They will get to him when they take care of this woman, as they sense the rest of the bandits will be running away soon. A thin cloud of dust has kicked up from Moon's attack, which was surprisingly harsh on the wooden walls before them.

"Ya' ain't cheap fodder, either."

Something sharp pierces his arm, almost like a needle, and brings him to his knees to the rhythm of a gun being loaded. His name is gasped by Moon– and Hau, as he hears him waking up to see this happen, and everything is in slow motion as another shot is heard and Hau stops scrambling to talk, and another rings through the air and Moon falls beside him, much quicker to succumb to the poisoned arrows piercing their skin.

The woman stands before and above them, roughed up, but still standing.

"My name is Plumeria of the Deep, Commander in Chief of the Blackring Company– and ya' are messing with the wrong place, kids." Between the lids of his closing eyes, he sees her crouching. "It ain't gonna get pretty for brats like ya'. Ya' won't see the sun in a pretty damn long time."

And the last thing he hears and sees is laughter from the wrong people, closed eyes for the wrong reasons, and the unconscious faces of Moon close to him and Hau in the distance, the two being dragged away from him.

His conscience finally fades to dust and all that's left is the bitter taste of defeat under his tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLUMERIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> PLUMEEEEEEERIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> I love HEEEEEEEEEEEER and she kicked our squad's ass oh goodness me it feels like they got too excited wanting to go against pirates of that calliber I WONDER WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN
> 
> Looks like Moon the Unbeatable is also beaten down too I wonder what's gonna happen
> 
> We're getting to the final stretch of the arc and I just WANT THE SECOND ARC TO BEGIN AAAH I wonder how this will end?? Will people die?? :0 WHO KNOWS
> 
> I DONT KNOW


	17. Waking Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moon fishes Gladion out of prison and vulnerability leads to an uncanny agreement.

Black. Humidity. The feeling of dust sticking to his clothes and the noise of something dripping in the closed dark space he sits in. Something binds his wrists together, rough and full of fibers, his skin reddening as he absent-mindedly wiggles his wrists for freedom. It's a rope made of old fibers, and he can feel the sharp needle-like stray fibers poking on his skin.

His eyes open slowly. They are dry, almost crusty after being knocked out for what seems like hours, maybe the whole day. Twin small streams of what he finds to be moonlight hit his feet, clothes dirty and dusty.

The room has no source of light other than what little he can see from the floor– ground? It's all made of stone. This place barely qualifies to be a room and the floor is not carpeted.

He gazes outside. The sky is dark blue, stars twinkling behind the thin clouds of the night. Gladion estimates that he must have been sleeping all day if it's so dark out already, but he doesn't feel tired at all, just slightly groggy and sore all over. He wonders how long it's been since he's had a proper meal, how long it could have been if his throat is so dry.

He coughs out, then takes a deep breath. A recollection of the events following their invasion of the Blackring Outpost come to him in a flash, most of it blurry and hazy. He does remember the face of the woman who had imprisoned them, Moon getting up and almost overpowering them, Hau being unconscious– and then, needles to put them to sleep. He wonders if Moon's sudden spark of defiance had inspired such fear in the bandits to resort to drugs, but that's irrelevant.

Moon is not in his cell, and nor is Hau. It's the first time in a while that he's been alone, and he can't imagine a worse scenario than this.

If the rumors and his open pessimistic outlook are right, he will die here. Soon enough when they find no more pleasure in torturing him, they will get rid of him. Gladion looks at his tied wrists, yet his feet are free. There are parts of a rope at his feet, so he might have thrashed enough to get rid of them.

He wonders where Moon could be. She might have gotten what she wanted and she could be on the run now with a ship– or maybe dead. Hau could be with her, words about kindness forgotten to the two of them.

And worst of it all, Moon might have gotten all their treasures and she must be laughing hysterically at his expense– when he has so much more to do than letting her win.

Gladion does not want to die here. How can he die? The odds are not in his favor and, in hindsight, he might meet the same fate if he runs away and encounters the unavoidable Kandrus Empire, rotting in a cell like this– or even worse. At least the Blackring hasn't hurt him yet.

He's lived with a godfather who didn't believe in him, traveled with an airhead grinning killing machine and a bouncing ball of laughter who _did_. They are the same ones who might have gotten in trouble like the idiots they are.

He can't die here. He has a family to find. He has things to do and he's too young to let some pirates get the best of him.

Why is it that he doesn't want to accept his fate anymore?

Gladion grits his teeth and fights further against the binds, gets on his knees and looks around himself. He is imprisoned behind rusty old bars bitten by the heavy humidity of the cell. Looking closer, the bars are so rough on the surface that they might help break the binds, so he shuffles closer to the cell bars and begins to rub the ropes against the surface. The binds burn as they twist around his wrists as he tries to break free, but he withstands the pain.

It takes him a pair of minutes to remove the binds, which fall to the ground. With sore shoulders, he caresses his thin wrists and rubs them with his fingers. There's nobody around his cell for some reason, but that will enable him to look for an exit freely. His first option is the window, but he's certain he can't even squeeze through the windowette even if he manages to break the small bars in it.

He needs to find another way out, so he looks around, humming all the while and stretching his arms and legs in the meantime.

Just when he's about to let out a yawn, something clicks above him, and a metallic groan ensues as a tap opens and somebody springs down from above, her face upside down and only a few inches from his own.

The grin is too familiar to miss it. "Arceus _on a stick_."

"Why, hello there, fellow jail prisoner." Her body sways back and forth, arms crossed as she hangs from the ceiling almost effortlessly– yet, in their proximity, he can distinguish small cuts embedded across her pale cheeks. "Needing some help?"

Gladion looks up. Moon dangles upside down from a ventilation cap – _of course_, ventilation units exist, how did he not think about that? – with a playful smile, eyes closed and her old beanie in her hands. Her legs disappear in the darkness of the ventilation unit, but no danger seems to be threatening her if she's this nonchalant about the whole ordeal.

That's not new to him; her reaction towards danger has always been, well, _nonexistent_.

Her issues with authority seem to apply to anybody, whether it's an evil authority or a good one– and he's on the fence about whether that's good or not. "What are you doing here? How did you even get here?"

"Oh?" Moon looks around the place. Her hair tickles his forehead as she moves. "Well, I sorta snuck my way out. Y'know, it's not the first time some baddies try to kidnap me and throw me to the gutter, so I know some tricks," she answers, pointing up with her thumb. "I got my daggers back, and I might know where your sword is, I think."

"Isn't Hau with you? And how did you find your weapon so quickly?"

"So _quickly_? It took me a while to get rid of all the guys in this unit, and finding the storage with my daggers was even harder, not to mention how long it took me to find another weapon shed in the facility. You got some nerve…" She takes a deep breath. Gladion asks himself how she can be upside down for so long without suffocating. "Anyway, Hau's not with me. He wasn't with me when I woke up. But we can talk about that after I get you outta here."

A tiny 'tsk' leaves his lips, causing her to blink at him in questioning. Moon has already helped him out too many times for his pride to handle it, and his first instinct is to reject her help and find another way out to prove himself to not only himself, but _her_, too.

"You didn't need to bother, I… could have figured something out on my own."

Unlike Hau, who had once bought this response and allowed him to figure a way out of trouble, Moon grins cheekily. "C'mon, Gladbag. I have left people behind to rot for much less than you rejecting help. If you don't get your ass up here, imma let you die out like a nasty spider!"

Her ruffling his feathers is all it takes for him to comply. After some engineering on their part, Moon pushes Gladion up and they crawl through the ventilation conduct. The passage is dusty and dirty, and he's sure a couple of cobwebs have caught with his wild bangs, but that's a fair price to pay in exchange for his survival. His clothes can be washed and the muck will fade when he starts moving.

When they exit through the roof of the building, it's like breaking through the surface of the sea after days of being underwater. The sky isn't ideally clear, nor is the temperature as forgiving as the inner parts of the Kandrus Dominion would offer. Their surroundings are eerily silent, crickets filling the gaps as Moon closes the cover of the ventilation passage with a few clicks of the trap door.

A fresh zephyr fans against his face. The lingering caress of salt under his nose is oddly soothing, and Moon sighs in response to that feeling. "Welp, we're out. Enjoying your freedom?"

"It's better than a mossy jail cell, I guess," he replies, then looks around. The big watchtower looms over them at a dangerously close distance, but he doesn't let that affect him– after all, nobody seems to be watching them at this hour. "Where to now?"

"My first idea would be to fetch Hau, wherever he is," Moon speaks in a low voice. "I don't know where he could be, but judging by how long it took me to get out, he can't have gotten very far, if he's escaped."

"What we should be doing is call for help somewhere," he grumbles, looking out for any guards coming their way. "We clearly can't manage on our own. We can come to get Hau later."

"And risk him getting hurt even more? Besides, who are we gonna ask for help? The whole Dominion is chasing after us– this might be the only place where we'll be safe, with all the bad fish of the sea." Gladion keeps himself silent and absorbs Moon's facts– she's right, sadly for them. "Hau is a good warrior, we need him safe and sound for the operation. I know somewhere we can stay for the night."

Gladion is not sure what to do. Before the conflict had begun, they had an established plan and a strategy, but that is clearly out of the question with them scattered across the battlefield now. He could come up with a plan very quickly if they have somewhere safe to talk, so his only option is to follow Moon for the time being.

He accepts the suggestion with one curt nod, and Moon begins to hop from one building to another. The side of the Outpost is made of rock buildings, much more like glorified caves with ventilation and cells, roofs flattened to give a better appearance, and there's very little space between blocks. Jumping doesn't seem as life-threatening as their activities upon the branches had been.

However, as he spares a glance at her, a few steps ahead of him, the blond notices that something is off in her moves. Her steps lack precision. Her body stumbles sloppily when jumping a level higher, and it takes her a moment too long for her to recover when they drop a level lower.

And then, a fortunate slice of moonlight throws light on her leg, and he notices a wound dripping with steady blood. The cut goes from the back of her thigh to the side of her knee– it's painfully hard to miss.

Frowning as he runs, Gladion jumps up along with her. The fact that she can even _run _with that on her skin shocks him. "Your leg–"

"It's fine." Moon shoots him a confident grin, managing to miss a gap between buildings without looking. "It's nothing! I've survived far worse than this."

"You're saying that as if you could fight like that!" Even in the dimness of the night can he see her pursing her lips, all the mirth gone from her face. "If you want to fight properly tomorrow, you need to let me take a look at that."

"Gladion, I'm fine," Moon insists, "I can fight perfectly. No damage done at all." To exemplify this fact, she twirls in the air and lands all too gracefully on the next roof. Her grin is back, turning smug as she watches his expression turn pissed. "Would I be jumping so easily around the place if I wasn't just fine? You're being ridiculous!"

That's all it takes for Moon's shoe to catch with the edge of the building's roof and she falls face-first on the roof, arms stretched forward and her body limping with a groan more characteristic of a dying crocodile than a human being. Gladion stops in his tracks to see her remain down and rolls his eyes as he jogs to her side.

When Moon's head rises to look at him, she finds his expression to be serious. "Who is being ridiculous now?"

"_I swear to Arceus_," Moon mutters as she picks herself up, unbalanced. "Let's keep going. It's just a simple cut," she mumbles, holding her head with one hand and a wince, starting to run again.

It becomes apparent to him in that same instant that he might be proud and very much able to solve his issues on his own, but Moon is just plain _obstinate_. In his defense, most of the times he would reject help would be in dangerous scenarios where the helper could end up hurt – though he rarely thinks about that when the occasion comes – but she's rejecting his aid.

What point is she trying to make?

"Moon, if we want things to go okay tomorrow, you need to let me–"

"I'll let you check it out when we get there. I'm not gonna bleed to death, but…" Her head slowly turns to his and she's smirking. "Thank you for the concern, though. You're such a fretting granny."

Her upbeat demeanor doesn't make the situation any better. "Don't laugh at me when I'm trying to help you out!" A growl is the only thing that remains when he's done speaking.

The _It's the least I owe you_ is muted, but he believes she will hear it all the same. Gladion can feel her eyes flickering in his direction. Then, he hears Moon chuckle and the _thank you _is also unhearable from her, but he wants to believe it's true nonetheless.

Or he might be too tired now, and he can't be bothered to listen to her excuses anymore. All he knows is that she's bleeding and that while he doesn't like her that much, he doesn't precisely _dislike _her, either.

Her presence is simply not unpleasant.

But he refuses to admit that out loud; that he can't stop looking at that wound and that it's irritating him more than it should. He tells himself he has to make sure the operation sails smoothly, and they continue jumping and escaping to safety through the night.

* * *

"Could you be any– ow!"

"Be still. It _has _to burn, and I won't work properly with you fidgeting like a cockroach."

Gladion and Moon settle for the night on a small plateau by the Outpost. It's not quite within the limits of the facility, but somewhere on a side of the big pile of rocks that overlooks the whole of the place. They have a total view of the Outpost from their point, hidden partially by palm trees and the darkness of the night.

The only thing that could reveal their location is the little fire that Gladion had insisted on setting up to tend her wounds properly. Not only had he discovered another cut on her arm, but she's also managed to get one across her shoulder. He has certain expertise in the field; after all, Faba was a doctor, and Moon should have enough resilience to withstand the pain.

The tending process would have sailed smoothly if not for one unforeseen difficulty: Moon is an extremely troublesome patient.

"_Stop moving_," he grumbles, sitting at her feet with a cotton pad on his hand. He presses it against her knee gently but she still shifts and twists away from it. "How have you survived for so long without getting yourself treated? You don't seem to have any scars, how did your companions deal with you?"

She folds her arms and gives him a skeptical look. "I'm very much able to treat my cuts, it's just a bit hard to deal with the alcohol– where did you even get that from?"

"I always carry a small quantity of it for emergencies like these, and you haven't answered my question yet."

"I'm too fast for anyone to hit me. I'm not gonna let anyone touch me like, ever, or that was my motto until Plumeria of the Deep Ass-Kicking decided to change that." Gladion lets out a faint chuckle that she doesn't hear, thankfully. "I don't usually have to deal with these, and when I _have _to, I go to a certified doctor." A thin finger pokes his cheek. "You aren't qualified, are you?"

"I'm qualified enough to say you're the most senseless person I have ever met." The finger jabs harder, then retreats. "How can you think that's a good idea? You really don't care for your own life, do you?"

Gladion removes the cotton from her knee and she moves her legs around tentatively, grinning at him. "Well, I'm alive for sure, am I not?"

"Too alive. You're a walking headache."

Moon tries to give him a kick he dodges, getting on his feet as she continues sitting on the fallen tree log. "And you're a walking stick. You should get yourself out of your ass soon, Gladbag."

He sighs and presses his back against a sizeable rock, sitting at a decent distance from his companion. "Says the one who thinks speeding through a minefield is a good battle strategy." He hears a puff come from her. "Is that how you have been managing all along?"

She winks at him. "They can't hurt me if they can't reach me."

"What about your other companions, then? Didn't they have anything against your very questionable methods?"

Moon turns silent at this but then breathes out a chuckle and slides off the log and to the ground, crossing her legs. "Other companions? Like, my servants?"

"You call them _servants_?"

"They were serving my causes, so that's what they were: _servants_." Her explanation is nonchalant and nearly worrisome, but he has nowhere to meddle with her idiosyncrasies. "I couldn't be bothered with most of them. They would fulfill their roles in a team and go. They were boring."

Why is it that her shallow branding of a group of people that were supposed to help her is not surprising at all? Does she possibly think of him and Hau the same way? Is she as disregarding of them as she seems to be of her past teammates? Clearly not, because she's stuck to them very loyally thus far, but he can't trust a girl as spontaneous and impulsive as her.

"Anyway, yeah. They were all very uncompromising and pretty uninteresting. Achieving my goals with them was unlikely, so I ditched them pretty quickly," she explains after what seemed to be a big gap of silence.

His next words test the grounds. "But we weren't, were we?"

Gladion would have expected a beaming _yes _from her– after all, she's been insistent on following him and being, in her own words, 'a pest'; but all that comes from her is a small distracting hum, her eyes focused on the fire between them and not him. She doesn't seem to be thinking about him now, or them, or the mission, even; but something much farther away from them.

Right. Each person has their mission. And he has his to fulfill. Which leads him to think of his next moves.

As things stand right now, nobody in the Blackring will give him their time to listen to his questions: if they have seen people of long blond hair and white clothes, if, maybe, those people were looking for a child they once lost, too. These people have ransacked and explored the whole Dominion, so it would make sense to think they could have seen people that meet those characteristics.

But nobody will listen anymore. Not when he's a direct enemy to all of them.

As he lets out a small curse, Moon's eyes rock to his side. "Don't get frustrated, Gladbag. We will be fine. We gotta look for Hau and run away– it'll be a piece of cake!"

The grin. The happy demeanor. The positive vibes that lack any sort of common sense behind them. Gladion hates all of it, more so now than _ever_, because things might be looking promising for her now but they for sure aren't for him. They had set out on this adventure for their mutual benefit, but the only one who seems to be gaining something out of this is _her_. He would dare say she's having fun, even when they are in the worst of pinches and he's had enough of this.

So he snaps.

"No, this will _not _be a piece of cake!" Gladion abruptly gets up, takes a step in her direction and points a menacing finger at her, sitting idly a few feet away from him. "Look, I'm getting tired of this. I agreed to this under the condition that we would both fulfill our own agendas by coming here, but thus far, all I have gotten is my ass kicked and I have formed enemies everywhere! How can you think it will be fun when all we have now are enemies_ everywhere_? Is my life a joke to you? Is _your _own life a joke to you?"

Gladion finishes with a pant, and he feels somewhat empty after he's let all his stress out. Moon is unabashedly unfazed by his words, head tilted and blinking very rapidly, processing his words silently. It almost feels like she understands what he's saying, nearly human under his scrutinizing green, trembling eyes.

Moon's mouth twitches, but she doesn't smile.

"For a guy as distant and cold as you, you bottle up your feelings and let them explode all over you like a volcano, eh?"

Gladion is not sure how to respond to this, so he doesn't. Instead, he lets Moon fill in the gaps like she always does – it only feels natural for _her _to do it, now – and watches her run a hand through her hair.

That's when the smile appears, but something in it, maybe how curly it is, inspires _fear _in him.

"Listen here. I'm not gonna say that things are gonna be easy and that you're gonna have the time of your life, but you could at least not lash out on me when I also got things to do. Not everything revolves around _you _and your stuff and maybe we wouldn't have gotten our ass kicked if you bothered listening to the rest and stopped hiding _all of this_," she points at him, from head to toe, signaling his feelings, "and tried to cooperate a little."

Gladion tries to get a word in, fuming out of his ears, but she waves a dismissive hand at him to say that she's _not _done.

"If you wanna blame me for, y'know, having a whole Empire chasing after us, then that's on me, but I'll be the one to get killed if they catch me. I got things to take care of and you're _not _helping with that attitude. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to get us out of the pinch, so stop complaining. We gotta work together to get rid of these guys, get our prize, and then part ways. That's all there is to it."

She doesn't scream. She doesn't raise her voice, even when it bubbles and she clearly wants to yell– Moon knows they can be caught, so she smiles further like she's giving candy to a toddler. In the way she simplifies it, it _does _look like she's infantilizing him, but the effect is oddly successful and he feels less tense. It's like all her hits and jabs have hit on the right spots and he's left vulnerable and… stupid, in a way.

Faba has screamed at him before, but it had been narcissistic attempts to put Gladion below and himself above. He's gotten scolded by people for his bad behavior, but this? This is different. It doesn't sound like pent up frustration, but more like a collection of evidence she's been nonchalantly picking up as they went.

There's no anger in her eyes. Gladion is convinced she can't be angry at anything or anyone even when, in hindsight, she has every right to be angry at him as he was with her. _Was_, because he has no strength to be angry at anything or anyone anymore.

She makes things look easy, almost. Gladion swallows the lump curling in his throat and coughs. "You aren't easy to work with, either."

"I'm not used to resorting to teamwork for extended amounts of time," she explains curtly. "But we gotta put all we got in this. As long as we get the ship and run away, we'll be fine."

"What do you suggest, then?" he asks between gritted teeth, wisps of irritation lingering in his expression.

Moon stays silent for a moment, then two. "We gotta find Hau first. It wouldn't be okay to leave him here to rot and die, as much as I'd like to run off with the ship, and we'll be done. At least he won't lash out on me for no reason."

"...Duly noted," he amends with a sigh, taking a few steps back and falling right where he sat before. "And you just want to go find him like we're going treasure hunting?"

He realizes he's made a mistake by saying that, because she grins at him in a way too similar to her hunting expression, thirsty but happy. "That's the best analogy! I knew you had it in you to get it," she ignores his frustrated sigh, closing her eyes. The fire illuminates her in an orange yet angry red light. "So yeah, we'll get the ship. We gotta get that no matter what."

His eyebrows fall pinched in the middle. Moon has manifested on many occasions her need to run away from the Dominion on a _ship_, and he doesn't know if she's being insistent on the means of transportation or the act of running away, but her very fixed aim for the hardest of accomplishments baffles him.

"You are awfully insistent on taking a ship from them," he says, mostly an observation with an implied question she doesn't catch, so he spells it out for her. "Why so?"

Moon becomes visibly stiff at this, but suspiciously so. It seems like she had not expected that question, and to be honest, neither had he. "It's a matter of… being practical, I guess." Her eyes remain fixed on the embers of the fire. "I'm looking for something very important; I'll do _anything _to fulfill my goal," she finishes.

Gladion goes to sleep that night with an odd feeling nestled in his chest. It occupies more space than it should and he can't stop thinking about all that Moon had said: the reprimanding, undoubtedly mean-spirited but not angry; her assertive comments, the astounding bite she had squared into each punch; her honesty. It spins in his head and makes him feel genuinely uncomfortable, weird.

It's a new feeling. He shrinks and curls as he tries to sleep, utterly confused by this sudden turn of events. Why is it that he feels like tomorrow might go better than expected? Why is it that he feels at ease, yet so puzzled with the outcome of the night?

And, most importantly, why does he feel such tremendous unprecedented _respect _for her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moon: stop being an edgelord  
Gladion: stop being a brat  
Moon: >:C  
Gladion: >:C
> 
> I love them so much and I love that ending even more. The remaining chapters of this arc are probably the ones I dislike the most so I'm like surprised this chapter was pretty good in my opnion gfbhdnjsiako
> 
> Not much to say other than PREACH THE BANTERING SHIP


	18. Rustle, Hustle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion and Moon look for Hau. Their ambition and greed leads to war.

"Did'cha hear of the Captain's new prisoners?"

"Yeah. Alba told me earlier that they were tough as nails, dude. Like, _real _tough. I think they got their hands on something good, but we dunno what they're up to."

"Alba was there? I didn't know they promoted her. She must be hella happy."

"She'll only be happy if the Chief lets her have her way with the prisoners. She's got some issues with assassins and stuff since the Karee– _HMPH_!"

A shadow falls on the talking duo and curls his arms around the neck of his victim, and at the same time, another falls before the erratic panicked companion and throws a knife on his forehead, instantly killing him off and leaving a splash of blood behind him. Seeing this, the other recruit grows hysterical, twisting in the other's grip before another knife lands on his chest and he grows limp.

Moon shakes her head as she plucks out her knife from the recruit, cleaning it with the hem of her shorts. "I swear to Arceus, you told me you got it when I explained it to you. My explanations were pretty clear."

The blond lets go of the body and sighs irritably, handing Moon her own dagger. "You simply told me to curl my arms around the guy's neck and squeeze like my life depended on it. I wouldn't call that a clear explanation."

"When I let you test your technique on me you almost choked the life outta me."

"I have no comment on that," he grunts, hands on his hips as she approaches the door, eyeing him suspiciously and pointedly. "We also agreed you would stop it with the dagger throwing scheme. You give me a little heart attack whenever one of your weapons gets close to my face."

Moon rolls her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous! My aim is perfect. Me missing my target is totally unheard of. I'll never hit you unintentionally, I'm sure of that." Her expression brightens up, something machiavellian appearing in her mind. "Besides, you could have handled a lil' knife or two. You aren't made of butter."

"You are underestimating the softness of my skin." He's always been on the thin side after all– but his point still stands. "But I mean that you need to warn me about that type of thing. We agreed on cooperating, correct?"

"We _did_, but how am I supposed to warn you about something so _specific _and so sudden? It's more of an impulse thing and not something I do intentionally. Unless I gotta do it, of course," she explains, eyes lifting from the metallic door of the shed to him. "It's a part of my fighting skills. You can't have me without me throwing something to somebody."

"And that's fine, but if we want to work as a team, we need to agree to, I don't know, maybe a signal?"

"A signal?"

Gladion nods and folds his arms. "Yeah. Something that we can notice even in the heat of the battle. We will probably be too distracted fighting to look at each other, so maybe we should engineer another way around the issue."

With a finger on her bottom lip and her eyes darting up and down the door before her, she taps her foot on the ground and thinks about it. They are standing in front of a weaponry shed, one with a door full of rusted corners and dots, a place undoubtedly dangerous where nobody should stand around thinking about life– but they are mostly going with the flow of things, so any surprise attack is to be expected but also unwelcome.

Moon appears to come up with an idea, by the way her eyes widen and she moves her hands to her hips, grabbing her daggers. "What about…" She holds the daggers and drums them against each other twice. A metallic clang echoes in the distance, but it's cleverly concealed by the chirping crickets. She lets out a gasp of excitement, grinning. "Hey, that sounds cool! Would that work? I can use it to tell you to duck."

"Won't the noise be camouflaged by the clashing of other weapons? Most Blackring bandits use handheld weapons like swords and daggers. I'm sure I saw another guy wielding a battle axe."

"But the noise of my daggers is a bit more pitched." And she's right about that. Her daggers let out a more glassy and pitched noise than that of a sword. After all her weapons are, as she had said once 'pretty damn premium and expensive', so they are probably made of quality materials that ring out a particular note in the musical scale. "I'm sure you'll hear it from pretty far away."

Gladion never thought he would put Faba's terrible music classes to use but life is unexpected in ways like these. "Right. We will work with that for the time being." Moon nods and keeps her daggers on her hips. He turns to the door. "What are you going to do about this?"

"Oh! Right, the door!" She takes a step in its direction, then tries to twist the door and open it.

As expected, the door does not open. Moon looks at it in rare defeat, causing Gladion to arch an eyebrow. "Did you seriously expect it to be open?"

"A girl can dream, Gladbag." Hands on her hips, a stubborn and evil expression tugs at her lips and sinks her eyebrows. "Maybe I can kick it down?"

"And make more noise?"

"What do you suggest, then?"

With a sigh, Gladion pushes her out of the way. "Step aside. I will take care of this."

As ashamed as he is to admit it, Gladion had learned how to pick locks at a pretty young age. Faba never knew about this, but he had made acquaintances with a few ex-bandits in Ludwig Town that taught him most of what he knows today about any sort of vandalism, lockpicking included. His upbringing had not left much space for friends, and the few he had were questionable role models, but Gladion has always been pragmatic and took only the things he could use in the future for his own benefit.

Gladion extends his hand as he kneels by the door. "I will need either a bobby pin or your dagger."

"Which one is more effective?" she asks, a hand hovering over one of her daggers.

"I would say both are just as effective, but I don't know if the point of your dagger will survive, despite that method being quicker. I can work with either equally quick."

No more words needed, Moon sneaks a hand under her shirt and smoothly slides out a single bobby pin, dropping it on Gladion's hand as he visibly questions why she would keep a pin there. Moon crosses her arms and smirks. "A woman has her tricks. I use them to mend the threads of my shirt."

As Gladion slides the bobby pin into the lock, he shakes his head. "Your clothes are beyond repair at this point. I'm surprised your clothes haven't fallen apart yet."

A chuckle blows out of her grinning lips. "Why? Wanna sneak a peek on my underwear?"

"Not particularly," he says in a levered deadpan. "It's just scientific curiosity. I rarely see you changing clothes."

Gladion feels the gears within the lock and begins to toy with them with the end of her pin, all the while she audibly cackles as he digs his knees harder against the dry soil in concentration. "I'm fond of my clothes, that's all. I'm sure they're comfier than the edgy getup you got going on."

His eyes briefly look down to his dark shirt, black trousers, and blood-colored belt and the red sneakers he's been wearing for _ages_, now. "I'm rather minimalistic. And more elegant than you will ever be."

Moon is about to come up with a witty remark before he lets out a small noise of approval and the door clicks open. Her bobby pin reveals itself to be unscathed as he pulls it out and gives it to her. The girl looks at it slowly, only finding small chips on the black tint of the pin.

She whistles appreciatively, smiling at the open door. "That was cool. You gotta teach me how to do that sometime!"

Gladion thinks that giving the tricks on lockpicking to a potential criminal like her is dangerous, but he doesn't voice it out loud and simply parts the ajar door so they can enter the shed. Everything is dark and dirty inside, moss creeping at the upper corners of the room and some of the shelves where myriads of weapons rest; from daggers to pistols, whips, swords, gauntlets, bows and an alarming amount of sabers and axes.

In a box at the corner of the room, round bombs are piled in an unkempt manner. Moon picks one up and tosses it to her other hand. "They aren't playing around, are they?"

Gladion scans the room in search of his weapon, and he lets out a small sigh of relief when he sees the familiar handle of his Silvally. He holds the weapon in his calloused grip, searching for any damages in the sword, and he luckily finds none. "Is this the only shed in the Outpost?"

"I got my daggers in another shed somewhere by the entrance to the facility, so I don't think so, no." A lapse of silence passes between them. "I'm guessing you wanted to find Hau's staff, too?"

He blinks at her from the corner of his eyes, surprised she figured him out so quickly, and nods. "Yeah. If we find Hau, he will be grateful to have his staff back, but it doesn't seem to be here."

Moon hums and shakes her head in agreement. The place is dark, and even as Moon manages to find a little dusty switch to turn the lights on, their outlooks don't change. There is no staff anywhere. "It wasn't in the other shack either. I don't know if he could have sneaked in either."

Suspicion takes over his features, and even in the dark, he can tell she's noticed the sharp edge of his voice. "Was the door open in that one?"

"Erm… _no_." Gladion can tell she's gulping by the rushed end of her sentence, even as her back is to him. "I just sorta… kicked my way in. A lil' hit to the glass did it. The little cuts on my arms probably come from sneaking in."

Gladion rubs his palm all over his face and bites back a groan. "Did anyone see you?"

"Nobody that could tell the tale is alive anymore."

"_Good_." This is the first time he agrees with her violent methods. He hopes it's the last time, too. "Nobody knows we have escaped. There was nobody in my unit when you came by."

"That was also my doing." At this, he sharply turns to her with a disapproving frown and finds her shrugging. "What? Did you want to be chased and probably create a sudden uproar of people chasing after you and wake up the entire Outpost? No, thanks."

In a way, she's right. Too right. So much so Gladion finds himself with even more questions than before. "So you took them out before I woke up, I assume?"

"I was looking for you and Hau and they were getting in the way. I had no other option." Moon chuckles to herself. "It's still late in the night, so nobody will notice the… _bodies_ I left behind. I don't have enough muscle power to get rid of all of them, y'know."

Gladion turns fully to face her, sheathing his sword swiftly and walking up to her. "Hold on, that means that everyone is asleep right now, right? Because you said nobody saw you– or us, for that matter."

Moon stiffly nods. "Yeah. There's nobody out right now unless they're on guard duty."

A beat of silence. When the alarming truth of the situation dawns on him, he puts his hands on his hips, a condescending frown crowning his eyes. "Which means nobody will find out about us escaping until sunrise."

"Yeah."

"... Which also means we only have until then to escape, if we don't want to be ambushed."

That's when it dawns on Moon too, her shoulders visibly tensing and her breath hitching as she realizes that their lack of planning and the trail of violence behind them will end up biting them on the ass. In fact, it gets worse as she looks out the window.

By the position of the moon and the sweet time they had taken to get to the shed, Gladion estimates the sun would rise in little over two hours.

When she answers his question, it's in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "... Technically, yeah."

_God fucking damn it._

* * *

It's deeply ironic how Gladion is thinking of so many strategies that would have worked back when it was useful. Much like when one thinks of quips and comebacks after an argument, he knows they could have organized everything much better back when the three were together. They could have schemed some capture-proof plan to meet up if they were captured. Moon would have taught them how to break out of prison like she did, unless it relied solely on her own skills that definitely neither Gladion or Hau possessed.

He could have constructed some sort of dummy to fool the guards, so Moon wouldn't have killed anyone off and they would have bought some time until the guards realized it was a dummy. And even without something as complicated as that, the sole strategy of having a meeting point in case of escaping would have made everything _so _much easier.

But they hadn't thought of that, of course, because there has always been a blatant level of overconfidence that, even when beaten to the dust by bad luck and a lack of cooperation, remains in her heart– or, at least, that's what her blunt confidence and stunts of gravity tell him; she's jumping everywhere and anywhere despite the very real danger of calling anyone's attention.

They have been jumping around the prison complexes for well over an hour now. Everything is eerily silent sans her evident stepping and his own breathing, both noises the only thing he can hear over the angry thumping of his heart at the thought of being caught. He's taught himself to not be scared of anything and anybody, but what they had experienced prior to their capturing had been criminal to his self-esteem– but not hers.

She might be putting up a façade, he considers, but then she must be doing one hell of a good job. "Will you stop jumping around like that? I know you're quicker than me, but there's no actual need to rub it on my face."

Moon drops down from a small prison window as he catches up with her. "I'm not being flashy. I just wanna get the job done as quickly as possible." Using a small ventilation unit as leverage, she jumps from that to the roof of the building, hands grabbing onto the ledge and then hoisting herself up with expert ease. "Should I take care of the guys in there? Hau might be around."

Gladion evaluates the offer. Wasting time killing guards off just for a safeguard seems a bit reckless in his opinion, but considering they have already left a pretty evident trail of bodies at their wake, there's no further danger in taking out the guards inside. "Why should we? We still need to look in two more buildings, and you haven't found him there, am I wrong?"

Moon sweeps her legs under her and pushes them off the ledge, kicking her feet as she sits on the edge of the roof. "I just thought that if we take them out now, we won't have to fight them tomorrow. Besides, some cells have no windows, and I can just zoom in and take care of it. I'll just need a few minutes."

The guards within the jail buildings don't amount to many, he's sure of that. There are many tents set throughout the Outpost and the watchtower is high, leaving space for many dormitories. It is, however, very tempting to get some work ahead of them, no matter if they manage to sneak out without a need to fight or not.

Moon asking him this, as if she's ready to fight tomorrow, makes him think she's just as clueless about the day's outcome as him. "Fine by me." He unsheathes his sword. "But I would rather come with you. Two warriors work faster than one."

he's about to try and follow her risky climbing method, but she shakes a hand and her head to shove him off her plans. "Nah. I'll work better on my own. I don't like people holding me down for strategy and stuff."

"I think you meant _safety _and stuff."

Giggling to herself, she crosses her legs and looks down at him playfully. "Well, I'm alive now. And I didn't see you complaining when I got you out of that ugly, dusty cell." Gladion's eyes shrink in irritation at her antics. "I prefer working alone. It's less of a hassle to not have to command my moots everywhere."

Much to her surprise, Gladion takes the same route as her – ventilation unit, ledge, then a little impulse – and is by her side in record time. It is with a quick look at him that she sees a challenge dangling from his eyes, looking at her in pure unhinged rivalry.

"I'm sorry to inform you I'm not one of those _servants_," he spits out the word with the same amount of mockery she had used. "And I'm not going to do this in any other way when we can save time. And I won't accept no for an answer."

Her reaction is priceless. A spark of mischief and genuine interest surfaces in her eyes, and the smirk doesn't let itself be held back as she gets up and twirls her daggers into her hands. "So that's it, eh? Then you better not hold me down. I'm not gonna bother waiting for you."

"_Hold you down_? Hmph." Gladion swings his sword out, making it glint under the moonlight. "Watch me."

They end up plunging through the jail seamlessly, much to their surprise. Moon doesn't have to ring out her signal for 'dagger play', as she's decided to call it, and he's sure he's beaten up more people than _killed_, which is a good achievement in his opinion. Nobody has escaped the building unscathed, and the few that could have will have enough scars to never come back to the Outpost again.

Hau, however, is nowhere to be seen. And as they go through another building, then _another_, and then they take out all of the people left in a jail block they had missed, Hau is nowhere to be seen. That last block, however, had been particularly feisty and almost _ready _for an attack, proving themselves harder to beat in comparison to the nearly sleep-fighting guards from before.

Gladion keeps up with her excellently, and catches up to her in a cell she's checking. Judging by her obvious dismay and sighing, there is nobody there, either. "He has just _vanished_. My only option is that he's escaped, but I don't know how he could have pulled it off without causing any ruckus. His fighting is louder than ours."

A possibility appears in his head, one so gross it rolls out his tongue much slower and harder than he would like. "Do you think he…?" Unable to finish the thought, he leaves it hanging.

Moon offers her two cents. "In my profession we got the very handy tradition of never assuming someone's dead unless we see a corpse."

"You… just made that up, didn't you?"

"I didn't. I just put what I'd call 'intuitive practice' into words," she says carefully, arms folded as she pads around the cobblestone hallway of the prison. Her shoes splash with what Gladion assumes to be blood– he can barely see the floor with the precarious lighting they are in. "He could have gone to the pier. Maybe he's waiting for us."

Gladion considers Hau able enough to figure a way out of there. He, however, does not know enough about his profession and fighting to know how magic works. It could be that his tattoos can drive magic around his hands, and he could be fine without his staff. There are too many 'could be's for him to appeased with Moon's answer, though.

"Let's get going before the sun fully rises, then. Clearly he's not in any of these prisons."

Gladion's eyes linger on her a second too long. She catches the hesitation in his eyes, a lingering _right? _In his stare, and nods. "Of course he isn't." Then, a grin flashes across her face and she adopts a pose similar to his, hands behind her head. "That guy sure is interesting! I can't believe he broke outta here on his own– I knew he had it in him!"

There's no space left for pride for his comrade, but Gladion knows that if he could care about that now and his life was not on the line, he would be just as proud as she is, too.

* * *

This sunrise would be something to enjoy if it weren't for the searing danger threatening his life now.

The sea glitters in red and the sky is pink, orange and white. There are few to no clouds in the sky, and the sun is sneaking from the horizon in a way similar to the drawings he saw in Faba's books when he was younger. There are beautiful shimmers of white and blue on the ocean, and seagulls cross the sunrise blissfully unaware of the chaos that would unfold soon.

Or, at least, that's the numb state of mind Gladion has tricked himself into. He doesn't see any other way out of this without the proper mentality, and he really doesn't want to get into another panic attack just because he's getting cold feet.

In his head, his fear of survival is natural. Everyone is scared of dying. Any normal human being would be losing their shit, and being as nonchalant about it as Moon is is _not _normal. She, as a whole, is abnormal. A 'something is wrong with this picture'. A thorny bush in a rose garden. Somebody with a life so carefree he wonders what it must be like to look this calm and collected while staring at death right in the face.

Death being the path leading to the pier, suspiciously empty at this hour, the way clear. His left hand is shaking under his steel hold, something he used to have much better control of but he didn't notice this had been happening until they were leaving the prisons. It's natural to be afraid, he tells himself, but seeing the standards he walks with and what he's about to face, it just doesn't feel natural anymore.

He wants to overcome this panic. He's brave, that much he knows, and he _knows _he can do it. He's more skilled than half the people in the whole Outpost, that much he's proven to Moon, the guards and more importantly, _himself_.

But, sometimes, little outbursts of fear come up. They just attack him out of nowhere and leave him paralyzed and with bated breath, and he can't let that get the best of him if or when they get into the brawl.

"You know," her voice rings out calmly as she walks to the pier, "when I said yesterday that you kept your feelings in, I was trying to tell you that _that_'s gotta change."

A little hum of askance and confusion escapes him. Moon stands on the beginning of the pier, feet causing the wood under her to creak. Seagulls coo in the distance and cast shadows as they fly above them, and as she stops walking, she doesn't turn to him.

"If we wanna work as a team," Moon seems to hesitate with what to say. He watches her fidget with the hems of her shirt, undoubtedly bright under the sunshine but oddly calm as she shows no tease, no push, just the voice of advice, "you gotta tell me what's on your mind. I agreed to the little signal thingy, didn't I? Then you gotta tell me what's going on in that head of yours, or else you will just push me off like a cockroach and I'm sorry, but that's not gonna work anymore."

Moon waits it out, and so does he, expecting she will say something else to spare him– but she doesn't. "Where is this coming from? We have other business to–"

"Your hand has been shaking for half an hour," she points out. The way she's looking at the sea and not him makes her seem omniscient, almost. "Second, you're all tense and silent, and don't take any offense from this, but this is how you've been behaving all this time– and in the way you told me yesterday that you had had enough of my shit, I'm also sorta done with letting you swallow whatever you're feeling."

Almost like clockwork, Gladion has an answer at the tip of his tongue. "You can't–"

"Force it? No, and I won't force it. It's not my right to push you that far, but we're about to either sail into the sunset or fight for our lives, so if you got anything to say, you should do it now," she says, a sigh breathing at the end of her words as she resumes her walking. In the way she doesn't look behind herself, Gladion knows she's not expecting him to follow. "I won't judge. Just speak."

She doesn't look at him, even when he gives an audible sign that he's following her– his steps, and then, a cough. Her eyes are turned from his vision, and he has to wonder if she's hiding her expression or is giving him the intimacy of not having eyes on him as he speaks. It's considerate, she's being reasonable, and if they are lucky, he won't be seeing her again after this is over.

Which is not as pleasant as he thought it would be, getting her off his hair. It's just… a thought. A possibility among a million. Nothing particularly exciting anymore.

Tugging at the collar of his shirt with his erratic hand, he clears his throat. "I'm just– nervous about this whole ordeal. That's all."

His heavy exhale lets her know he's done with his talking. He doesn't know what she pretends to achieve with him saying what he feels, because he's been short and to the point about it, fearful of what his heart might say if he really opens up like she wishes him to– and Moon seems to notice this, for she looks at him for a beat, then two beats, and turns around again.

Her walking continues along the pier. A hum of approval? Respect? Rings through the pause. "We'll be fine. Like I told Hau, it's normal to be nervous– though I guess it's not the same. After all, Hau was scared shitless, you just look a bit jittery and nervous."

"How do you know I'm not scared? I'm nervous. Isn't it the same, in a way?"

"You didn't look that scared when you sped past five guards and later killed them off with like, a swing of your Silvally, right?" From the corner of his eye, with brief regard, he sees a smile grow in her expression as they ascend the stairs to one of the ships. "You got some guts to also come here. You're pretty damn reckless, I'll tell you that."

Teeth gritted in disdain, his not so shaky hand balls into a fist. "I should be the one saying that."

"What I'm trying to say is that we'll be fine! We have made it super far already, so it's only natural we'll be fine now, too!" Her smile opens and becomes a grin. As they stand by the door to the inside of the ship, she turns to him, hands on her hips. "Let's get this big boy somewhere, and we'll come back for Hau later. I'm _dying _to see if they keep those domesticated sharks I told you about here– that would be _so _cool!"

"That story cannot be true– and is this really the time to be thinking about that?"

Moon pouts. "You gotta keep a positive mindset– we're gonna be okay! Stop worrying for a second and let's have fun!"

He can't see where the fun part is, but what he _can _see is an attempt for her to brighten up the mood, which is in itself a pretty dumb yet nice thing to do, as obnoxious as she is. Moon is the most annoying and headless brat in existence, but the rare times of honesty between them are ones he's learning to appreciate– after all, it's not usual for anybody to take the time to listen to him like she has, even if it was only for a minute and it was just him rambling about nervousness that has long died, now.

So, they open the door. Moon twists the knob, talking about how she wants to pilot the ship herself in a very exciting way–

But all that meets them is the point of a blade directed at them, a bunch of bandits standing in their way with too many weapons in their hands to count, eyes awake and alert. The metal glints in the early sunshine, and one guy raises a horn to his mouth.

"_Blimey_! We're sorry, but you two ain't gonna take any step further. Your race ends here, folks."

The loud noise of a horn – in a second accompanied by three more – rings throughout the Outpost.

And that's how the brawl for control commences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moon: omg SHINY BOAT! I bet there's not gonna be anybody in there because nobody uses ships anyway! haha  
Moon:  
Moon: oh
> 
> yeah next chapter is just gonna be BATTLING BATTLING DARLING WE'RE GETTING IT
> 
> I wonder where Hau went
> 
> maybe he's de-


	19. The Cobweb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While a war ensues, Hau steps into something he should have never seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING: the following chapter contains a very very graphic depiction of death and anatomy, to the point it can gross the reader out. I was sadly inspired that way, so please read with caution!**

This, Hau ponders as he rushes around the outskirts of the Outpost, is not how he had imagined he would spend a fine late summer morning. It's hot and humid outside, so much so he feels his skin will soon melt off his body, yet the cloudy sky doesn't lie: it will soon rain like it never has before.

In the relatively short time he's been in this part of the Dominion, Hau has yet to see a drop of rain. His attention for this fact might exist because the Kandrus Dominion is arid for the most part and the stark difference between forests, mountains and deserts made him think the west region would harbor more rain than the east– but his assumptions had been wrong.

The sight of rain would have brought him joy before, but it now brings a sense of dread to his mind. He's supposed to be running away to safety, praying that the Kandrus Empire won't relate him to Moon's crimes and that they will help him save his friends from an impending full-out brawl at the Outpost.

He's only made it a few steps away from the Outpost when he comes to a staggering realization, one that makes him stumble in his step and stop running.

The Kandrus Empire is supposedly allied with the Blackring. It is pretty much established that the only 'hostile forces' in these three teams are Gladion, Moon and himself. The Kandrus will find Moon and arrest her, then kill her, and he's not sure if he will meet the same fate, as disgusting as it is to think about– and worst of it all, they wouldn't do absolutely _anything _about the Blackring.

Hau lets out a tiny "_Drat_." as he turns to face the Outpost again. The walls are somehow bigger than he remembers them. When the three of them had stood high and proud on a tree, planning their invasion, it had looked so small; but when he heard a horn right as he planned his escape from a hidden corner in the Outpost, the wall had gotten a bit taller. It looks _enormous_, menacing and looming under the threat of a storm.

The sorcerer gulps. His friends are in there, they could be in danger. He knows very little about what happened before they were captured, but he retains the sharp image of Moon and Gladion lying on the ground a few feet away from him, unconscious. Sure, they are capable of doing most things on their own, but there's only so much the human body can handle. Their chi might be powerful, but these people are not playing around anymore.

Why is it that the threat is present and vivid in his mind but he can't make his feet move, no matter how much he stares up at the peaks of the wooden wall? He bites the inner side of his cheek, hands balling into fists.

"_You're probably super strong now– like, you're very able now!"_

"_You are doing fine."_

Taking a deep breath, Hau nods to himself and pushes his fists up, giving himself strength, courage, and remembering that the two people he trusts the most could be in danger. He's strong enough to survive and save their lives as well– he has to step forward and go for it. Hau has not survived this long on his own for it to be in vain!

"C'mon, dude, you can do it," he says as he steps forward. He lets his chi flow into the soil under his feet as he walks, vines breaking through the fertile soil and approaching him from behind, then spreading forward to creep up the walls. Hau lets out a shaky breath, closing his eyes, letting his chi and focus do all the work. "You're gonna kick their ass so bad they won't tell left from right. They're not gonna see it coming. You're gonna help them. You're gonna stay _alive_."

Resolute, he looks up to admire his own work. His magic consists of chi manipulation, so it's a rather simplistic way of fighting, but it takes a lot of his energy to perform a powerful spell correctly. Hau, however, has always enjoyed putting his own artistic twist to all he creates, vegetation in particular. These vines, he realizes, have nothing artistic or pretty in them, but they certainly are sturdy and will serve their purpose.

Hau would gladly climb up the walls of the Outpost, but the dents to the surface are little to nonexistent, so this will have to do. It isn't a manner as conspicuous as it should be, but it will suffice. He slants his hands on the rough surface as the thick vines wrap around the top part of the wall, and begins climbing.

When he makes strategic decisions like these, he enjoys letting his mind wander, How would have Moon done it? She would be flashier for sure. Gladion wouldn't even make use of magic for these scenarios, he would just build a ladder out of a tree with his own bare hands. They are so cool, in his head; but so different, too.

Hau is thankful for this difference. As much as he knows comparing himself to others won't get him anywhere, he's glad to know him using magic is in no case a weak thing to do. Letting things be more difficult than they should be is not a sign of weakness – as Gladion would undoubtedly make them be, because that man is too stubborn to ever accept help from anybody but himself.

That day in Bleakdross, he had rejected his help even when he could have _died_. That guy is a total mystery.

"Okay, dude, _holy shit_, you're doing it," Hau mutters as he climbs past one half of the vine, stopping to take a breather. "You're doing it. You're gonna do it, you're almost there, you're gonna help them. You're awesome. You are _not _a coward. Your past self would be _so _proud, dude."

And that's how he makes it to the top and is immediately ambushed by two confused bandits. There are two seconds of uncomfortable silence where he wants to articulate an excuse as to why he's there, but the bandits are taking out their knives and Hau blindly swings his staff at them and successfully pulls them off the ledge and out of the Outpost.

He shyly watches them fall, guilt but also mischief written all over his face at such violent impulse. Moon's attitude is surely doing a lot of damage to his inhibitions. "Sorry. I gotta get my friends!" He waves at them as he begins to walk away. "Good luck!"

_That's the way to go_, he thinks, rushing along the platform of the Outpost's wall. He needs to hold his morale high and be just as confident as he's trying to convey. He can't let himself shake. Hau will be fine– he knows this. All he must do is make it a reality.

Surely, he can hear the distinct hush of crowds and screams in the distance, at the other side of the watchtower. He sees people rush from beneath his feet, from tents set up under where he stands and they are in a hurry, swinging their weapons back and forth. Hau isn't sure if what he sees is correct, but bandits might be even fighting against people of their own company.

He needs to find Moon and Gladion. That's his priority. When he finds them, he will figure out a way to help– but things aren't looking very pretty thus far. There are _too many_ people for him to think they can win this battle.

Hau follows his hunch. He jumps from one platform to another, beating anyone he needs to on his way. The sorcerer has no time to waste, and the noises are getting closer the further he runs. He going along the length of the Outpost's circular shape, looking out for any familiar faces in the small crowds he encounters.

He sees a few arguments between Blackring subordinates on his way to the battlefield. A woman and a man are arguing heatedly, surrounded by other people as they scream to each other. Hau wants to stay and watch, as he thinks that there might be something of worth in the conversation, but opts out of it; he has no time to waste when his friends' lives are in danger.

It doesn't take him much time to find Moon and Gladion, actually. They are fighting at the base of the watchtower between a sea of pirates, separated from one another. Moon is spinning like mad between people as she gives them kicks and punches, sometimes cutting up a throat, sometimes simply kicking them off from her. Gladion is a bit slower than her and he's moving much, much less, but he's leaving a substantial amount of bodies behind him.

Hau, however, doesn't like what he's seeing. The three of them had concluded that the sheer amount of people on the battlefield would be against them, but they would make up for it with their ability and strength and team power– but people just keep on coming. Some people are scattering around for one reason or another, but very few are running away from the battlefield per se. There is a very worrying amount of people on the battlefield.

It's only when he sees Gladion be stabbed on the shoulder – counter-attacked by a head being cut off smoothly – that he thinks they won't make it out alive. Hau's heart falls right through his stomach as he watches him falter and become a bit clumsier. Despite his clear advantage over the pirates skill-wise, the fear for his friends' death drives Hau to think of another way out.

They need to find a way out of this battle. Hau considers that battling will end up with a body count too high for him to sleep contently with, so they need to quit it without repercussions. Hau also knows that they are making considerable dents on the Blackring's brass– so much so, there is no longer dirt under the bodies, but blood and what is beginning to drip from the sky like rain.

The key to his plan lies at the top of the watchtower, he's sure of it. If Hau manages to strike a deal with Plumeria of the Deep and promises her to quit so no more people die, he will save Moon and Gladion. That's the best way he knows this brawl will end.

Hau turns heel and surveys the height of the watchtower in full. He had never thought he would have to go there unless it was to burn it, a strategy that had fleeted in their strategy discussion by Moon's suggestion but Gladion had been quick to shut down. It's all made of wood and glass, colored with the black of the Blackring and the golden of the _ring_, as he had privately joked with himself.

Hau sometimes wakes up earlier than the rest and he has nobody to talk to but himself. Most of his bad jokes come from those early and very regrettable mornings.

He finds the entrance to the watchtower to be surprisingly empty, so he drops in front of the entrance and looks around himself, then through the glass on the door. He sees nobody in the main lobby of the tower, nor in the spiraling staircase that leads to the next level. Everything is oddly quiet, muffling the noise of violence coming from the outside.

Hau ascends the staircase very carefully, slowly, and encounters his first difficulty when he hears two recruits talking to each other on the first floor. His legs are sore and he wouldn't mind sitting down, but he rushes to hide behind a curtain of a window in the staircase, hearing them walk towards him.

"Dude, I'm so tired of hearing about that old man. The Commander has gone insane to think following his orders will do any good."

"Yeah. That dude's scary. And what the hell was the Commander doing up there anyway? I had expected her to join the fight or whatever." A small pause. Hau thinks they might be looking at his probably obvious hiding place, but he hopes for it to be just his imagination. "I hate to admit it, but those brats are kicking our asses. I had heard about the chick but I got no clue who the other dude is. It's so fucking weird for the Captain not to be there."

"No clue, but I think she might be tryin' to send bug boss a messaging eagle or some shit for help. She's been in there for _hours_. She raised the emergency flag about two hours ago and nobody has come yet." A sigh, more like a groan. "D'you think we'll lose? Those brats can't hold up forever, right?"

"Beats me. I just wanna go to bed, and I sure as hell hope those two hero wannabes don't destroy my tent. I'll get real pissed if that happens."

The pair step right by Hau's hiding spot and walk downstairs, and the hiding man hears them run as they reach the lobby, darting out of the watchtower. Hau takes a daring peek from behind the thick curtain and stepping out when he sees nobody is there.

If Plumeria of the Deep is upstairs, that's where he should go. He's a magic user and she will know better than to try to kill him when he could very easily blow up the entire watchtower. This would be bad in many ways, but his chest is swelling with confidence and he loves it that way.

He just hopes the tower will be empty all the way up. He decides to practice what to say. "Good morning, I would like to– _no_, that's too polite. Hau, dude!" He hits his forehead once, then puts up an angry façade. "Hey! I wanna talk! I have stuff to–! _That's _too aggressive! Where's Gladbag when you need him?"

After minutes of painful stair climbing, Hau reaches the top floor of the tower. It's only a small corridor with a complete view of the sea and a small room behind a door, all in orange wood and a golden knob under his hovering hand. Hau takes in a deep breath, puts up his best menacing face and touches the door before something strong, _pungent _and nauseous causes him to flinch.

Something _smells _behind that door. His innocent mindset leads him to believe it might be just food. "Dude, what in the world is in there?"

Hau gently twists the door, still putting up a front, gulps, and opens the door.

Everything within the room comes in waves. The first thing that hits him is the overpowering stench within the room, causing Hau to screw his eyes shut in disgust – as if that will make it better – and smash the glass in the office open with his staff.

The second thing that greets him is a particular noise– more specifically, the splashing noise of his shoes stepping on something liquid, thick and very _abundant_, as his toes are getting moist in the puddle.

Curious, Hau opens his eyes as the smell begins to blend with the salt from the sea, and the sight that greets him causes the hairs on his neck to stand up at attention. Rich and drying blood is all over the floor, filtering through the cracks of the wooden floor and tainting the planks with crimson.

With bated breath, Hau follows the river of blood to a desk at the end of the room.

And the last thing that hits him is his own gasp of horror and his hands clasping on his mouth, backing himself against the wall of the office and closing his eyes, telling himself that the brief flash he's seen is true and that he needs no more, that he needs to get away because this is serious, this is bad, there is a corpse, somebody is _dead _and–

Hau slowly opens his eyes.

Plumeria of the Deep lies dead on her office table– if lying is a correct term, as she's sprawled on the desk very ungracefully; whoever did this had no love for her. Her stomach is punctured and gushing out blood, iron filtering through his fingers as he registers the smell and immediately _hates _it. Flies are hovering around her body and resting on her body– corpse? Because her eyes are open but _something _is gone behind them that tells a very obvious truth.

Her shirt has a few buttons open as he very regretfully notices, and something slimy is tasting the air of the room. He's quite sure he can see _muscle _peeking from between the split buttons, dripping with blood and turning brown and attracting the many flies in the room.

Something coils in Hau's stomach and bubbles up his throat, the smell punching him in the guts and making him bend over, crouch and puff his cheeks to _not _throw up.

That's Plumeria.

Somebody has murdered the terrifying Plumeria of the Deep. Her guts are open. They have _sliced _her open much like a tasteless pirate would. Hau chokes and tries to keep the invasive assumptions at bay, shaking his head and covering his mouth.

On the floor, he sees a small note that has fallen from Plumeria's hand, written in erratic black ink that he can barely read through the tears that sting at his eyes.

Trying to distract himself with another riddle, he stumbles with something that makes the gore and violence around him even _worse_ by reading the note out loud. "We won't become your–" a gag, "pet fiends for the... old geezer."

_Holy shit_.

He needs to get out.

He needs to get out.

He needs to _get out or else he might meet the same fate and he can't have that he has people to save but how can he move when that woman– she–_

Abrupt noises coming from the staircase is what brings him to his feet again, but when he goes to greet the people coming to the door, he stumbles and gets dizzy, still fighting the bile back into his body.

Of course, pirates have had to come to check on their boss _now _of all times. And judging by their _livid _expressions, they have made the obvious assumption that Hau is the one behind this hideous crime.

"You! What the _fuck _have you done to our Captan!? How dare you attack our big sister!?"

Stifling his own sobs as he keeps his heart from bursting, terrified, grossed out and _overwhelmed _to the bone, Hau looks at them through glassy, stressed out and tremoring eyes.

But when his mind catches up with the reality and severity of the situation – the knives pointed at him, the many threats thrown at him and the abrupt realization that this crime has very likely been an act of treason – he purses his lips and aims his staff at them, ready for what would probably be worse option out the many he used to have.

So, he attacks.

* * *

"Now, what sort of diabolic chicken coop were you born from, chick!?"

Moon happily sprints behind him and kicks him behind his head, flipping around just in time to bend down and kick three other bandits out of her way in a spinning motion, jumping to her feet again to stab a grunt on the throat, dirtying her jaw with his blood. "That's none of your business! Now play nice and stop fighting! We already said we just wanna grab a ship and leave, don't insist on this!"

Gladion is surprised she's still keeping up with her upbeat demeanor, considering his shoulder is still bleeding, his shirt cannot contain the blood anymore and he's not as tired as she for sure is– after all, Moon moves way more than he does. She keeps throwing knives and tossing insults back and forth to anybody unwise enough to approach her, laughing it off like they are not losing the battle. At this point, he can't tell anymore.

And the more he looks at her– taking in her wounds, the dirt caked all over her body and limbs, he wonders how she can keep up that glint in her eyes even when she looks like she will collapse anytime soon.

Gladion suddenly hears _it_.

Two rhythmic yet casual clings of metal against each other, so he ducks out of her daggers way as she chucks them at a pirate behind him, one of them landing on the guy's throat and another on his forehead. Moon has lost her daggers, but she continues fighting with her martial arts prowess, using hopping on the back of one guy to kick two on their heads and to the ground.

He takes the opportunity to stab one of the guys she's kicked with his sword, and then draw it back cleanly, using the momentum to kick one guy on the stomach and land him on the ground, where another bandit uses him as leverage to jump on Gladion, and the other dodging said attack causes a lunging bandit to be met with the other's wrath instead.

Moon takes a high jump to meet him on the battlefield, right in time to defend him from a blade coming his way. Their backs meet on the battlefield, grunts glaring at them and readying their weapons. Some people run away; others stay.

"Well, it looks like we aren't finished yet, eh?" Her back is pressed against his. She's warm all over, and he can smell the faint stench of sweat coming from her body, along with the distinct pang from iron that is all over her body, but also on his. "We're gonna have to split the cake. It's getting stuffy in here."

Gladion couldn't agree more. There is a fair amount of criminals in a place as big as the Outpost's plaza, and that says a lot. "Good for me. Hopefully we'll find Hau as well."

He feels her nod behind him, and from the corner of his eye, he sees her hold out her fist, presumably for him to bump his with. "I'll see you later. I got some ass to kick. Don't go too slow, Gladbag."

Her hand stares back at him as the marauders begin to grow impatient. It's all he can see, in the blurry masses of people surrounding him. It glares into his soul as an offer of trust, an offer of good luck, as if she's tending him a hand like a mate would. Like a friend would. His throat closes up and he looks away from the hand.

He doesn't need her luck. He can do fine on his own. "I will be done before you can toss one of your knives to some poor pedestrian."

Her hand lingers up for one more second, and then, she chuckles. "Of course," she murmurs, but he doesn't know what she's exactly referring to. When she talks again, he can hear the grin like she's standing right before him and not behind him. "You better watch out for yourself. I'm not gonna come back and pick up your corpse, and if you die, I'll be taking all your money!"

Moon doesn't stay to hear more from him and leaps to the watchtower before her, causing the bandits to turn in her direction and start shouting at her to come down. "Yo, girly! Come down here to where we can kick yer ass! Ain't ya the bravest one, eh?"

"Me? Of course!" she beams from up the tower's wall, hanging from the ledge of a window and only moving to press her feet to the wall. "You wanna get a piece of me? Then, you're gonna have to catch me first!"

And with that, Moon jumps sideways and out of the crowd of bandits, successfully steering them behind her as she breezes away from the scene. Gladion is left with very few bandits to fight, and the few that are left with him are licking their lips like he's a prize to hold. The blond can't stand that sort of nasty look– it reminds him of a hungry Moon, and that's the _worst _Moon.

"Yo, kid. You and the chick with the beanie got some damn guts." The pirate points his blade at Gladion. "But do ya' know what that girl's gonna suffer? She's gonna die, with all the people that went with her. She ain't gonna stand a chance with so many fishies biting on that skin of hers."

The pirates look for a reaction, a weakness they can aim for to provoke him, and the first taste they get is an intuitive narrowing of his eyes, but he's quick to shrug it off. "So what?"

They are clearly taken aback by his blunt confession. The guy's expression is that of shock under the cloth that covers his mouth, words muffled against the fabric. "Wh-What!? Ain't ya' his boyfriend? Or maybe some sort of friend?"

"Me and her? Are you joking? Of course not," he replies. With one foot in front of another and his sword held in one of his hands, he glares at them right on. "But what I can tell you for sure is that you truly are downplaying her abilities. I have seen her hit herself with sticks sharper than those weak swords of yours."

His comment hits a nerve it seems, because one guy throws himself at him with his battle axe and strikes on the ground Gladion was standing on, yet the swordsman has promptly jumped back from that spot and readies a swift strike on the marauder's back, hitting on his muscles and shattering the muscles underneath. It releases a gross squeezing noise along with a scream from the dying bandit, but Gladion decides to make nothing of it.

That's right. He breathes in. Everything is going fine. He's doing great.

When he draws back his sword and the body drops to the ground, his sword drips with bitter and red blood. The body's fall unveils the disgusted – and pleasantly scared – look in the pirates' faces. "Damn, kid. The Captain wasn't kiddin' when she said you were good. But you ain't gonna last for much longer."

"Oh?" Gladion squints his eyes at them, clearly irritated. "And why would that be?"

He hears swords being drawn behind him, and the steps of more people piling on the crowd. Suddenly, the enemies have multiplied around him, and he's not sure he likes that at all. "If your girlie friend ain't gonna kick the bucket, you sure will. We can't let a pair of kids win the battle like that, it ain't fair."

"It's not our fault you guys are undertrained. Maybe learning how to wield a sword correctly would be a step in the right direction."

And that's when Gladion has stepped over the thin line between enemy banter and outright offense. The bandit's eyes grow wide and he hears the distinct noise of weapons shifting and landing on their owners' hands. "You little shit. We're gonna tear you to damn pieces!"

Gladion gets his sword ready and secretly hopes this will be a fight worthy of his time and all this irritation swirling in his chest. "We will see about that."

The blond enters a whirlwind of clashes and moving. It feels overwhelming, almost, as if his senses are all working at the same time to make him move twice the speed of a normal human being. His legs throb as he successfully cuts through two people at the same time, then slices a shoulder, then a leg, and then plunges his sword into a man's heart so deep he can _feel _the muscle pulse against the blade.

It's insanity. He feels like he's on overdrive, his hands trembling in what he can no longer discern as either absolute nervousness or utter thrill and excitement.

And in that state of mind-numbing constant moving, Gladion hears somebody shout throughout the battlefield.

"_The tower is burnin' up!_"

Gladion makes the mistake of looking up as ashes begin to fall on the battlefield. The top part of the building is starting to burn from the base of the last floor and up. It looks like a beacon of light, nearly beautiful as the wood creaks and begins to fall to the ground and people around him scream in terror.

People around him are running away. Some call him crazy for staying when he can no longer even know where he is. It suddenly feels like he's underwater, but as he bites his pain back and blinks the cloudiness in his eyes away, he recovers enough clarity to hear a catastrophic noise come from above him.

It ripples, it cracks, and the top of the tower suddenly explodes, causing the structure as a whole to quiver at its base and tumble to a side, tilting and beginning to fall apart in a whirlwind of flames.

A deafening noise ripples from the burning, the bandits screaming and the collision of what must be tons of wood and stone against the dry sand of the Outpost, causing the ground to shake under him as his brain screams for silence, for everything to be over, for everyone to stop screaming, for his wounds to stop bleeding.

Something in his chest constricts as he falls to his knees, feeling the lingering shake of the earth under him. Everyone runs around him, away from the burning tower as a light drizzle starts to sprinkle on his warm frame. It feels like the whole world is spinning, suddenly, and it's as if he has no control over his body anymore.

The last thing Gladion sees is the burning tower and the raindrops hitting on the soil of the Outpost. And then, everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plumeria: killed by her own tripulation sliced up on a desk  
The Blackring: literally in an internal crisis  
Hau: missing  
Moon: missing  
Gladion: alone and potentially dead
> 
> Y A Y DUDE YAY LOVE ME SOME FINAL CLIMACTIC ANGST EVERYONE IS GONE NOW AND THE BATTLE IS SUDDENLY OVER BECAUSE THE BLACKRING SEEMS TO BE IN TROUBLEEE they killed their most badass member I-
> 
> Man I wonder if we just set up for one of the most important plot points of the entire series, The Betrayal and Crisis of the Blackring for Reasons We Cannot Know Yet. I'm so excited about the Blackring.
> 
> AND WE'RE HEADING FOR THE LAST CHAPTER TEHEEE I WONDER WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN


	20. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion escapes the Blackring Outpost, learns that Moon has a painful sense of revenge and loses himself halfway into his escapade.

When Gladion comes to, everything is dust around him and he's soaking wet. The ground that used to be dirt has become muddy under his hands, calloused and numb. He can't hear the rush of feet or the screams anymore, just the pitter-patter of the rain against the few stones buried under the soil.

He rasps out a groan, attempting to feel his surroundings. His eyes part open to the silence and the incoming storm. Everything is gray, dark and gloomy, much like his town would have been during a storm this mild. The shambles of the tower that once burnt are crisp black and gray, the rain digging into the embers and spreading the ashes across the battlefield.

The entrance to the Outpost has been partly blocked by debris, and there is almost nothing left of it. He would dare say that, by the light black he can make out through the rain on the wooden walls, the barriers have been burning, too. There are few parts of the Outpost left unscathed, and if it weren't for the rain, Gladion is sure he would have burnt, too.

He moves little by little, getting on his knees. The Outpost is hauntingly empty, now. There is absolutely nobody by his side to help him up or to greet him. He had almost expected Moon to pop up and take him with her to another adventure– yet she's nowhere to be found.

As he looks around, he finds nobody he can identify. Bodies remain on the battlefield, but the blood has been washed away to give way to the everlasting gray of loneliness. It's a bit too cold, even, and the silence around him does not feel right.

Gladion touches his abdomen, and then his shoulder. He's still bleeding– he must have been bleeding out for about half an hour, but the process must have been slow. He can feel dots of dizziness at the back of his head, but he will manage.

He does not know where Moon is, or where Hau has gone. He believes Hau must have run away from the Outpost in the end– but the explosion had been too artificial and sudden to not be Hau's doing, but Gladion thinks him intelligent enough to make it out of that one.

Moon, however, is another story. As much as he's painfully aware that she's almost immortal at this point, having survived way too many stabs from fate for her to destructible. The tumble of the watchtower had still landed too close to her for him to be certain she's alright, but a part of him is sure she's okay.

She always is. She wouldn't give him the blessing of sparing him… though she's sparing him now.

Hands on his lap as he gets himself on his knees, Gladion looks up at the sky. There are small gaps of clear sky between the thick angry clouds, shattering the ground with arrays of sunlight amidst the rain. The drops are pleasant against his cheeks, washing the muck away. He would have never predicted that he would be only one remaining in the battlefield, and much less that it would rain like this in a day that is supposed to be happy– after all, it seems like they won.

He looks around him once more and lets the reality of the situation catch up with him. Now that the Blackring is out of the way, he needs to leave before anyone reaches the scene. Without a doubt, the colossal burning of the watchtower must have caught people's attention; after all, it had been a fire with smoke noticeable enough for at least Altaria Bay, he's sure of that.

Gladion removes his hand from his shoulder and finds it tainted with blood mixed with the rain.

"Arceus, this is bad," he mutters, getting on his feet shakily. His eyes are dotted with blurs from the raindrops and his own weakness, but he has to run away from here before somebody finds him.

Right as he's thinking about this, he hears the sharp clicking of armor shoes marching into his proximity, prompting him to take a few steps back and look for a hiding spot. It's only natural the Kandrus soldiers would have reached them by now, and they have probably _rushed _to the scene when their secret allies had their base burnt to the ground. Whether they are there to save the offenders or arrest them is something he doesn't know, but his instinct is telling him to run away from them.

Gladion finds a conventional safe spot to hide in, a gap between the rubble of the fallen watchtower and a big plank of wood from the roof. He crouches and hides in the darkness that the spot provides. The raindrops hit on the roof hard, almost deafening the noises around him as the soldiers come into view.

"This place is in shambles. What a waste," one of the soldiers says, his silver armor shining under the gray light of the storm. Other people come behind him, looking around. Various degrees of shock are written in their faces. "What in the world happened here?"

"The Emperor will be displeased with this outcome," another says, making Gladion frown in the darkness. "Everything was burnt to the ground. Where has everyone gone? I thought this Outpost was the most crowded one."

One of the soldiers – one that Gladion is sure he's seen before – steps forward, hand outstretched to feel the rain on his armored hand. "Those three scoundrels might have reached the base. I hope they burnt with all this crap. If anything, I'm mildly disappointed we didn't get to execute them ourselves."

Gladion had been hoping they wouldn't have figured out his relation to Moon's crimes– or _her _in general, but he had been sorely mistaken. To think that he's now an enemy to the whole Empire of Kandrus is distressing to think about, and in his fretting, Gladion wonders if these news have reached his godfather back in Ludwig Town, if he's now disappointed in the gentleman he had hoped he would become.

He couldn't be further away from that image of perfection Faba had tried to impose on him, and as jarring as going against that canon had been, he doesn't feel as bad about it as he would have, once.

"There's nobody left here. Those scumbags must have run away, all of them." The soldier clicks his tongue as his eyes scan the area. "If we aren't careful, they might end up joining forces with those three rats, if they are still alive. Our priorities are that girlie and Plumeria of the Deep."

"Where has that woman gone, anyway? Plumeria, I mean," asks another, unsheathing his sword as if ready to strike the enemy. "We need to have a talk with her about this. The bug boss isn't going to be happy about this, either. He better not break the Emperor's vases like last time… those were expensive. He doesn't like losing territories like this."

Gladion mouths the aforementioned name in confusion. The _bug _boss. He's heard that name before, he's sure of it– _yeah_, he's heard it somewhere. Some grunts had mentioned him here and there when ransacking shops in Ludwig Town, and the name had also come up a few times in the scarce run-ins he had with bandits in Gemstone Village. What he's surprised to have found is that the bug boss is the _big _Blackring boss, even with a nickname as harmless as that. And by the likes of it, that man and the Emperor are closely related– at least when it comes to business.

The conversation he overheard in the Shongshu Watchpoint about their alliance and Moon's explanation about the Kandrus and their corruption flash in his memory. Could they be any dirtier than this?

"Anyway, let's search the place. We might find something good. Let's start by the coast, there might be somebody needing our help there, drowning or whatever." They begin to scatter, much to Gladion's worry, with some of them parting to the right and in the direction of the pier, where no ships must be standing because the fire probably burnt them down.

Moon isn't going to be pleased about that, but that's not his business anymore.

Gladion pushes backward and exits his little spot from behind, walking across the Outpost and navigating between burnt tents and broken boxes that once held artillery and other objects of interest. Tents, supplies by tents and what looks like beds and small chests by the beds, but there's little to nothing left of that.

Seeing the beds makes him think Hau would have enjoyed a nap after a battle this heated, and Moon would have had the time of her life exploring the chests. He has no time to rummage through them, but he's curious as to what a pirate would have had, what the usual possessions were. It would have been an interesting insight into their lives.

Gladion winces as a wrong step causes his leg to throb. His muscles are sore, painfully so. Fainting in an unfortunate posture after an even more unfortunate battle has its disadvantages, he supposes.

In the distance, he sees a mostly unscathed building. It stands as a small passage out of the Outpost, surrounded by what used to be a fence and the intact walls of the facility. Taking that as his chance to escape, Gladion shuffles faster towards the building, panting as the rain weighs him down and his body throbs in complaint.

If he's found in there and there is no exit, he will _die_; but if he makes it out to the woods and somehow does not lose too much blood, he will survive and live to tell the tale. His family's pendant and the photograph are still in his pocket– that small weight has never left him, and it hits with his side as he wobbles forward. His hand touches the pocket and he sighs in relief as he finds them to be there, untouched, _safe_, as it should be.

Gladion has a mission to carry out, but he cannot stay here anymore. He needs to run away from here.

He pushes the door to the building open weakly. The wooden double doors are not locked at all and warmth overcomes him as he enters the shed. His hands touch the wall in search of a flip switch, but instead, he finds a shelf with an oil lamp and matches right by it. The only thing illuminating the room is the light from outside, which comes from between gaps from double doors at the end of the room.

He fumbles with the matches to light them up, then puts the flame on the oil lamp. Something makes a noise in the room, but it's camouflaged by the downpour outside.

What he finds there is a _horse_, a brown one with long hair and moving limbs. It moves around itself and on a flat layer of old hay, neighing as it goes. Gladion approaches it in awe and the horse, surprisingly mild and interested, walks to his side, too.

"Hey there, little buddy," the horse releases a small noise of acknowledgment, and the swordmaster's stained hand caresses the horse's mane. "Good boy. You are a good boy– huh?"

His fingers find something metallic around the horse's neck, and the lamp reveals it to be a metallic collar. A grunt of disdain escapes his throat at the thought of the pirates doing this to him, an innocent horse that this far has only been gentle with him. "Give me a second," he reaches behind him to his small backpack and finds an apple, then offers it to the horse.

As the horse gives the fruit an eager bite, Gladion takes out his sword as he maneuvers with his lamp to find the chain, and when he finds it, he throws the apple to the back of the room and raises his sword, then cuts the chain in two.

The horse is delighted by this, letting out a sound of glee as Gladion approaches it again. "Listen, I need to get out of here. When I'm far away from here and safe, you can be free. I promise I won't hurt you like those guys did, okay? You're safe now."

Gladion has felt little patches of skin under the horse's thin hair. It's obvious it has endured some sort of abuse or… _harsh _taming, so his voice is gentle as to not startle it. The horse doesn't say anything in response, but that's all that Gladion needs to think it's willing to take them both out of the Outpost.

The Blackring has been kind enough to leave a saddle on the horse, and this makes the task of riding it much easier. His shoulder and legs throb as he hops on the horse. He knows he doesn't have much time left before he collapses again, so he has to get them both out before the Kandrus forces find him.

A minute later, Gladion and the horse burst out of the barn and into the woods, rushing along the shore of the Soakedge Strait. The rain makes seeing a bit harder, and he hopes the horse won't slip on the wet grass.

Gladion hopes that he will find some pier in the shore of the strait that will take him far away from there, but he doesn't know if he will make it out of there alive. He's losing blood at an alarming speed, as his moving has possibly reopened old wounds from the brawl.

The river thrashes by his side and then thrashes even _louder_. He hears an imponent noise come from behind him, and he turns to find a sight to behold sailing right behind him.

He recognizes it instantly: it's a Blackring ship. The golden edges and the imponent bowsprit make it unmistakable, along with the statue of a siren tucked under the structure. It's all tainted brown and black, the masts holding white sails with brown skulls inked in them.

The water of the enormous ship sprays on his face as it reaches him, and in the middle of it all, he hears a distant laugh that he's heard a thousand times already.

It's Moon. On top of the ship. Steering the wheel and grinning at him from the top, ignoring his screams. "What the hell are you doing in there!?"

She yells into the wind with an expression so bright and playful it barely looks like her usual impassive and violent self. "I told you I'd make it! Anything to achieve my goals!"

But she's not stopping, not telling him to stop his horse and she isn't stopping her ship, either. It dawns on him that there is nowhere in the strait for him to properly hop into her ship, and she most likely knows this, hence why her grin turns into a smirk and she laughs even louder, rising the fist he had refused to bump earlier.

That's when he realizes that she's not going to pick him up.

"Who's the airhead now, huh!?" she screams into the wind as her enormous ship picks up its pace. Gladion barely registers her voice in the daredevil speed she's going at, but his teeth grit as she salutes him with mischievous laughter. "See you in Zeffarei! Let's see who gets there first!"

What sort of wicked, twisted and _sick _retaliation is this?

As her laughter sails along with her ship into the distance and he gets a horrible view of the rear of her vessel, he screams a string of curses so obscene that only the river's thrashing and his own pumping heartbeat can swallow such profanity.

Gladion's horse instinctively picks up its pace as her boat disappears into the distance.

Of _course _she would leave him there! Of course!

She's always been an airhead with purposes too secretive for him to know, but important enough for her to leave him to rot like she's mentioned she's done a few times now with other people. Anger boils in his stomach; he shouldn't be surprised she would challenge him to a _race_ in conditions like these, but her utter lack of companionship when he's bleeding to death appalls him.

What the hell could be so important for her to leave in such a hurry? _God fucking damn it_.

As he tries to curse out loud again, his shoulder throbs and the horse makes an unfortunate skip over a small segment of rocks, causing the man to double over in pain. The constant galloping of the horse and the incessant movement is making his body ache, his legs tire out and his head pound with the noise of the horse's feet hitting the grass.

Suddenly, Gladion hears a clamor from ahead of him, and with one last gallop of the horse, he pulls at its reins to make it stop. The horse bucks and stops right as he does this, and Gladion hops off its saddle.

The wet ground causes him to nearly slip. His hair is matted down by the rain and he can only see from one eye, but that's enough to see the horse question his motives. His hand caresses the horse's cheek once more. "This is where we have to part ways. You are free now– well, you have the saddle on, but I don't have the strength to take it off from you. I have to go, now, or else the bad people will catch me." The horse nods as though it understands, and Gladion pats it. "Have a good life."

And without another question asked, he parts from the horse and into the rain. He doesn't hear the creature walk away from him, but in retrospect, it doesn't have the same hurry he does, no matter what his too slow walking says.

He's mildly aware of his surroundings, yet his green eyes remain fixated on the grass. Everything has been darkened by the downpour, his shoes tainted with burgundy – were they this dark before? – and his hands having his own blood rinsed off from them. Gladion barely registers the pulsing of his gashes as they tell him to treat them, but he's long run out of bandages and he's not in the right condition to look after himself.

He would have never thought it: parting from Ludwig Town, from the safety of his home in a cloudy town, and ending up exhausted at a riverbank.

Moon had left him to rot. He wonders if she had done it to get revenge on him not bumping her fist during the battle, but she never came across as _this _petty. He keeps on asking himself why she had to go and be a wild card again, leaving him behind.

She probably trusts him to be fine on his own and has not considered that he needs help. Her judgment, as always, is aimless and skewed. Gladion curses her.

He also wonders if Hau is alright, if maybe he's with her and he's off to attend to his own duties, as well. After all, hadn't Gladion put heavy emphasis on how he's only here to fulfill his goals? Why is he so surprised someone would do just the same?

Faba would be disappointed that he trusted them even a little bit. Gladion, deep inside, is just as disappointed in himself.

Arceus, _he's an idiot._

"_Arceus_," he chuckles to himself bitterly, "I'm a dumbass."

But he secretly hopes they are okay, wherever they are, no matter how irritated he is things turned out this way.

Gladion notices that the clamor he had heard before has gotten louder, and he can hear the familiar roars of battling in the distance. His walking had turned clumsy and weak: from make-pretend stoic strides to light sagging, and he's now dragging his feet forward. Maybe he should have let his horse take him somewhere safer, where nobody is fighting and everyone is at peace.

His hand hovers over the handle of his own sword. As unlucky as he is, he's certain he will find himself surrounded by Kandrus soldiers once more and what must be more Blackring marauders, but, at this point, he has no other option but to get help from anyone.

Surprise, however, grows instead of fear, as his eyes land on uniforms and armors that he's never seen before. White and golden have replaced the silver of the Kandrus, and soldiers from an unknown force are fighting against Blackring marauders in a heated battle. He's never seen any of these people before, but he's suddenly interested in the battle when he sees a fancy ship in the distance along with more people rushing to the aid of these troops.

His first instinct is to jump in and help, but his shoulder throbs no sooner than he tries to grab his sword. Gladion bites his cheek to null out the pain. "C'mon, don't be a coward now," he tells himself, and his hand inches closer. "You can't die here. Your body has handled far worse than this!"

And it's with that harsh whisper that he springs into the battlefield, sword in his steady grip to stab a pirate right through his stomach, and then lunges for another one. Everyone is visibly alarmed by the sudden appearance of this unknown warrior, halting their own battles to look at the newcomer with equal parts of shock and suspicion.

A man with blond, pinkish hair rushes towards him from a side, sweeping one buccaneer off the way with his sword. "Who are you, stranger? We have not asked for any support soldiers, not to mention that you are not wearing armor in this awful rain."

Gladion dodges a hit, then lands one on the shoulder of one pirate. "I'm just–" His sentence is interrupted by a wince of pain. "I was walking by. I'm not going to hurt any of your comrades."

"I see." The stranger smiles to himself, then strikes at somebody that was coming from behind Gladion, cleanly chopping off his head and kicking it to the waters of the strait with the side of his sword. "I'm assuming you have a grudge against these people?"

The question is ironically perfect, given the circumstances, and it causes him to smirk. "I can't stand pirates. Or people who steal from others. You could say I'm essentially an enemy to this company."

His hand reaches to clutch his bleeding shoulder, only to discover a long gash along his forearm through the fabric of his shirt. Something in his subconscious is pulling the strings to create dots of black in his clouded eyes, everything spinning around him again. There's suddenly too many people, his sword is becoming too heavy; Gladion knows he's at his limit.

"Mhm, that's an interesting answer." The man says, nodding in clear approval, which momentarily encourages Gladion to raise his sword and go for an attack to continue helping, to continue withstanding the pain. Gladion hears the clash of two swords and he almost ducks out of instinct. "Could I know your name, young man?"

He's about to say it. Gladion raises his sword to strike another man through his shoulder, almost in vengeance for what he's going through now. When he draws it out, however, as he's about to cough out his own name, he reaches out to attack again–

But then, his body says _stop_. Pulls on the brakes and makes his shoulder's muscles tense and he _growls _out in pain, releasing a yelp as he sinks to his knees. The last vestiges of his consciousness beg for him to get up and continue fighting, but his hands are shaking, blood is soaking his clothes and he releases a raspy pant, then limps on the ground.

Gladion hears people screaming, but his body feels cold, _so _cold. He can't feel his legs, his hands, or even the grass under him as he breathes in, breathes out.

And then, everything turns black.

* * *

"_Look! I caught a big, big beetle, this time!"_

_The man before him looks at him tenderly. It isn't the man he's used to seeing in memories of misfit, greed, narcissism and glaring sadness, but rather a man with hair like wheat and skin flush in pride for the child before him. He looks at the bug in the glass cage with curiosity, then kneels to his level._

_A hand ruffles his uneven bangs, and Gladion squeals happily. "I knew you could do it. You did very well, son."_

_And then, the dream fades, leaving only reassurance behind._

"_You did great, Gladion."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moon The Assassin Leaves Her Previous Teammate to Starve At A Riverbank to Create Tension - 2019, colorized
> 
> Because yes we haven't had enough people making an oopsie so Moon is gonna MAKE A MISTAKE because before characters become good, they need to make mistakes and this is one of them
> 
> If anything I'm very satisfied that the arc has a very very suspenseful ending and that it has ended EXACTLY as it begun-- with everyone scattered and IT'S UP TO ME TO BRING THEM BACK TOGETHER HEHEHE I like me some angstish endings :) I also kinda hated it tho bc everything is description and I need dialogues to WRITE THINGS WELL GDI I DIDN'T WANT THIS TO BE SO INTROSPECTIVE (it won't happen again)
> 
> IM ALSO SO GLAD THIS ARC ENDED BECAUSE I HATE IT SO MUCH THE NEXT ONE IS MUCH BETTER I PROMISE!! We're getting: new playlist, new map, new places to explore, new characters and LONASHIPPING BOYS
> 
> SO YEP LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: ONE ARC DOWN, THREE TO GO. I'll probs post the new one in 1 or 2 days, so things will kick in again very soon!! Drop a comment if you liked this and I hope you're not mad at me heheHEHEHE
> 
> See you guys in the next arc! <3 Thanks for reading, things are gonna get exciting!


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